The State Postal Bureau of China began the destruction of 3 billion yuan (around US$365 million) of stamps on Friday in an attempt to boost the country's flagging philatelic market.
Special and commemorative stamps released between 1992 and 2001 will be minced over a two month period at the Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Bureau.
Liu Jianhui, director of Postage and Stamp Management Department said that the oversupply of these stamps had led to the depression in the market and that they currently account for 94 percent of all the inventories of provincial post offices.
