Tonga a lesser known nation issued a set of four stamps in the year 2017 depicting the favourite fashion of the country – the Cheongsam fashion.

The cheongsam is a body-hugging one-piece Chinese dress for woman, also known as ‘qipao’. This type of female dress is distinctive Chinese features of Manchu origin. It was called mandarin gown during 1920s-1930s, popularized by Chinese socialites and upper-class women in Shanghai.

The term Cheongsam is a Romanization of Cantonese word cheuhngsaam which means long shirt/dress. However in Chinese, a changshan refers to an exclusively male garment, and the female version is known as the qipao.

Since 20 years, Tonga has established diplomatic relations with People’s Republic of China. Tonga is resided by a considerable amount of Chinese residents. As a result of which there has been considerable exchange of culture between the two countries. The popular Chinese fashion depicted on the stamps of Tonga is one manifestation of the friendship.

In the year 2017 Tonga has issued a set of 4 self adhesive stamps designed by Sophia Zhang featuring the Chinese Cheongsam dress. The stamps are shape cut to follow the style of the Cheongsam dress. The stamps come with the denomination raging between 5Tongan pa'anga and 11.50 Tongan pa’anga.

Image Sources: https://colnect.com

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