China monkey stamp perfed. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The island of Jersey in the English Channel, an autonomous dependency of the British crown, is among the first to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Year of the Monkey, with the release of a stamp issue on Jan 5 designed by Beijing illustrator Wang Huming.

The rich, red and gold illustrations by Wang, the deputy chief designer of the Postage Stamp Printing Bureau of China Post, were created in Beijing and printed in France.

Melanie Gouzinis, head of philatelic at Jersey Post, said: "The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is the most important celebration in the Chinese calendar and is celebrated by Chinese and ethnic communities around the world."

Chinese zodiac animals have symbolic meanings given to them by the ancient Chinese, and people born in each animal's year are said to have some of that animal's personality. Those born in the year of the monkey are said to be smart, quick-witted, optimistic and ambitious.

Gouzinis said: "The design Wang Huming has created for our Lunar New Year issue shows the monkey holding a peach and uses gold colors against a red background. While the peach is a symbol of long life in Chinese culture, red is considered the luckiest color and is widely used during festivals.

"We are very fortunate to have worked together with such a high-profile artist as Wang on this stamp issue as well as our links with China issue (a series of flower stamps) released earlier this year."