Commemorative Cover Marking the Sino— American
Joint Issue of Crane Special Stamps
The postal administrations of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America signed in 1992 an agreement to issue jointly a set of bird specials on Oct. 9 , 1994 (World Post Day) , both sides would share the same designs.
On Oct. 9, 1994, China and the United States issued jointly a set of 2 crane specials featuring the "Black— Necked Crane" and " Whooping Crane" respectively. The whooping crane is a rare animal produced only in North America and under the protection of the US law, while the black— necked crane is a bird produced only in China and a first-grade wild animal under the state protection. Both the cranes are listed as the first— grade species under the protection of the international CITES.
To mark the event, the China National Philatelic Corporation released a commemorative envelope.