This week, we feature a postcard showing a bird’s eye view of the Beijing Olympic Green. On the left side is the Beijing National Stadium, colloquially known as the Bird’s Nest. With a construction cost of US$423 million, the 80,000-seater stadium is the world’s largest steel structure. This postcard also shows the Beijing National Aquatics Centre illuminated at night. The exterior is surrounded by 4,000 bubbles and is commonly known as the Water Cube.

Sent: 19 February 2010
Received: 26 February 2010

Also, check out the earlier post on the HK$20 Beijing Olympics commemorative note!

Every year, China Post would issue postcards for the Chinese New Year. Also known as lottery New Year postcards, each of the cards bears a unique serial number. A list of winning serial numbers will be announced on the China Post website later today. Prizes can be redeemed from 5 March to 5 May 2010.

The postcard has a simple hand-drawn design which reflects the Chinese culture during the New Year. Regardless of age, people are dressed in red, as this colour is regarded as auspicious. On the fifteenth day of the New Year, children would walk around with lanterns, as shown on the postcard.

Sent from a friend in Beijing on 19 February 2010, the fifth day of the New Year, this card arrived in my mailbox yesterday, just in time for the last day of the New Year.

The cover above was sent by Terence Wong, showing both the old and new label. Yes, old labels can still be obtained at all other machines!

The design is similar to that of the stamp issue on the 150 Years of Singapore Botanic Gardens, overprinted with the words ‘Destination Singapore’ in red. Each SAM label measures 49 mm by 26 mm.

According to a notice released today, the SAM labels will be released at Jurong Point (from 2 March 2010 onwards), Killiney Road (3 March), Tanglin (4 March) and Change Alley (5 March) next week. Following which, the new set of labels can be purchased from the SAMs located at Robinson Road (8 March), Chinatown Point (9 March), Toa Payoh Central (10 March), Thomson Road (11 March), Changi Airport (12 March) and Woodlands Central (15 March). Collectors may wish to collect the entire set of stamp labels from the above philatelic branches. The stamp labels will be introduced at other branches progressively from 16 March 2010.

The latest addition to my collection is the New 1991 Brilliant Uncirculated Coin Set. This set was issued on 29 October 1991 with a mintage of 70,000 sets. In that year, a new aluminium-bronze $5 coin was also introduced as part of the uncirculated coin set. The $5 coin was issued in 1990 to commemorate Singapore’s 25th Anniversary. From 1992, the $5 coin has been replaced by the bimetallic, scallop-edged coin designed by local artist and sculptor Dr Elise Yu.

A special commemorative banknote was issued by the Bank of China (Hong Kong) a month before the 2008 Beijing Olympics (XXIX Olympiad). A total of four million pieces of HK$20 Olympic banknotes were printed. Since there were multiple-in-one packages, there were only 3.14 million items available for sale, of which 2.93 million of these items were sold in Hong Kong.

The single HK$20 banknote is presented in a blue-purple folder and is sold for HK$138, almost seven times its face value. The 4-in-1 uncut sheets are sold for HK$338, while the 35-in-1 uncut sheets are sold for HK$1388. Queues started two days before the note was made available to the public.

Features on the obverse include a picture of a plinth, the official Beijing Olympics emblem and the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. The Olympic Stadium, commonly known as the ‘Bird’s Nest’ is shown on the reverse.

This banknote shares the same colour and size as the 2003 HK$20 note issued by the Bank of China (Hong Kong). However, new security features such as bright-and-highlighted watermarks and colour-changing windowed threads were introduced. The serial number consists of six digits and may include a two-letter prefix. The prefixes include AA, BJ and HK. The remaining 1 million banknotes do not bear a prefix.

Every year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore would issue an uncirculated coin set to signify an auspicious and prosperous year ahead, and is presented in the form of a red packet, commonly known as a ‘hongbao’. This coin set features the second series of circulation coins in Singapore, as well as the scallop-edged $5 coin which has been introduced in 1992. This year, the coin set retails for $20 and can be purchased from the Singapore Mint.

Last month, Singapore Post gave its customers a Freepost envelope, similar to a postage prepaid envelope. This means that the postage to any local address is free. This C5 sized envelope is valid for postage up to 40 grams. On the back, there are different advertisement designs featuring the services provided by Singapore Post. However, this envelope is no longer available to customers since the promotion is over. If you would like one, try requesting excess stocks from the counter staff.

However, queuing up may take some time, especially during lunch hours. At around 3 pm yesterday, long queues were formed in the Serangoon Garden branches of DBS, OCBC and UOB. For example, it took me close to 35 minutes to exchange for new notes at DBS.

To avoid the long queues at local banks, you may wish to try obtaining your new banknotes at banks like Citibank, HSBC, Maybank or Standard Chartered. For example, there were only three other people in queue at HSBC Serangoon Garden when I visited the bank yesterday afternoon. Try visiting areas where different banks are located near one another. My favourite clusters (containing at least 5 banks, within walking distance) include Serangoon Garden, Ang Mo Kio Central and Holland Village.

In addition, $2 notes with two square dots at the back have been spotted. Currently, square dots have appeared on five of the seven denominations: $2, $10, $50, $100 and $1000, of which the notes either contain one, two or no square dots. Square dots have not been spotted on denominations of $5 and $10000 yet.

For postage to a local address, the postage fees is 26 cents (up to 20 grams) and 32 cents (up to 40 grams) respectively. Wait, isn’t this the usual rates? True, but not exactly. Now, cards with creative designs can also be sent. For example, posting a red square envelope would require a postage of 50 cents due to its non-standard nature. Now, it only costs 26 cents, provided that the weight does not exceed 20 grams.

For Malaysia and Brunei, the festive rate for a greeting card is 45 cents (up to 20 grams) and 55 cents (up to 50 grams) respectively. For all other countries in the world, the festive rate is 55 cents for a weight of up to 40 grams. The usual rates for sending a card of weight up to 20 grams range from 65 cents to $1.10, depending on the destination. Every additional 10 grams ranges from an extra charge of 25 cents to 35 cents respectively.

If you would like to send or exchange a greeting card, simply drop me an email or send a card to Tan Wei Jie, VBox 887977, Singapore.

The following is extracted from the information sheet provided by Singapore Post:

Housing & Development Board (HDB)

HDB, Singapore’s public housing authority, was established on 1 Feb 1960 as a statutory board, to tackle Singapore’s acute housing shortage. At that time, a large number of people were living in unhygienic, potentially hazardous slums and crowded squatter settlements. By 1965, the HDB had built over 50,000 flats to house the people. The work of the HDB has continued over the years; and Singapore has seen the unparalleled transition of slums and squatter housing to high-rise living in vibrant and sustainable towns. Today, 82% of Singapore’s resident population lives in HDB flats, with more than 95% of them owning their homes.

Beyond the provision of homes in comprehensively planned towns, the public housing programme has played a crucial role in strengthening social cohesion through policies and programmes that encourage different segments of the population to live harmoniously together. Various estate renewal programmes have also been implemented to bring the standard of the older towns to the new ones. As a result, the vibrancy of the towns, the urban landscape and the value of HDB flats have been enhanced for the benefit of many Singaporeans.

People’s Association

The People’s Association (PA) was set up on 1 July 1960, in the turbulent pre-independence period, marked by political upheaval and racial tensions. Its mission then, as it is today, is to foster social cohesion and racial harmony, to build a united and resilient nation. PA offers the common space and creates opportunities for people of different races and religions, from all walks of life, to come together to interact, make friends and bond.

From just 28 Community Centres in the beginning, the PA today offers a wide range of courses, programmes and activities, through its network of 105 Community Clubs, 550 Residents’ Committee Centres, Outward Bound Singapore and 8 Water-Venture outlets. The Community Development Councils, the National Youth Council, and the National Community Leadership Institute are also part of the PA family, together with a 28,000 strong corps of volunteer community leaders serving in 1,800 grassroots organisations.

PA will forge ahead to strengthen community spirit and engagement, in support of its mission of building and bridging communities to achieve one people, one Singapore.

Singapore Customs

The Customs department’s history dates back to the Straits Settlement period. Established in 1910 under the name Government Monopolies Department, the main role of the department then was to regulate the opium trade. Over the past 100 years, the department has gone through several organisational and name changes. In 2003, the department was re-constituted to become Singapore Customs (SC), with the mission of assuring the integrity of Singapore’s trading system and supporting Singapore as a global trade hub.

As the lead trade regulatory authority, SC is committed to advancing the economic development of Singapore by making trade easy, fair and secure. To fulfill this commitment, SC maintains an effective and robust regulatory regime that adapts quickly to the ever-changing business landscape. One example is the first supply chain security programme in Asia, Secure Trade Partnership (STP) launched by SC in 2007 to address the global concern about trade security. As a key revenue collection agency for Singapore, SC safeguards Government revenue and takes firm enforcement actions against those who attempt to evade duties and taxes by bringing in contraband goods.

Going forward, SC remains committed to be an active and valuable partner for the business community as well as providing excellent service to our customers. The agency will continue to strive to enhance Singapore’s global competitiveness and facilitate opportunities for economic growth from the many exciting challenges ahead.

Singapore Scout Association

In 1907, Lord Baden-Powell successfully experimented his ideas on Scouting for Boys at a camp on Brownsea Island in England and Scoutmaster Frank Cooper Sands from UK started Scouting in Singapore on 22 July 1910.

Currently, the Singapore Scout Association (SSA) is 10,000 strong and has been a member of the World Scout Bureau since 1966. There are about 900 Adult Volunteers who serve the movement with dedication and commitment in various positions in the organisation.

Grounded on time-proven values and practices, SSA seeks to remain relevant by preparing the members to meet ever-changing needs. The core values and practices include a culture of peace, developing socially committed members, inclusiveness and gender balance. They prepare the members to contribute to World Peace, people-to-people relations and racial harmony in the community. Above all, SSA exemplifies this by maintaining unity within the diversity of its membership.

With a mission and vision based on the Scout Promise and Law to contribute to the education of young people and to help build a better world where people are self-fulfilled as individuals and play a constructive role in society, and to provide quality scouting for more young members so as to remain relevant and attractive as one of the premier uniformed organisations, all these helped SSA to be directed to their motto of “Be Prepared”, and to work “Towards a new millennium in Scouting”.