China

China stamps, available worldwide at Io Collezionista. China is the first country in the world by population, with more than 1.4 billion people, and the fourth by area. The word the Chinese use for their own nation is Zhongguo, a term with religious and cosmological weight that can be rendered as central realm or central state. The name commonly used abroad, China, first appeared in 1555, in travel accounts published by the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa. Among the stamps in this category are items dedicated to particular events, such as the anniversary of the death of Lenin and the national athletic games, and to distinguished figures, for instance the writer Lu Xun, considered the father of modern Chinese.