TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chunghwa Post is set to release a series of postage stamps later this year featuring various images ranging from Chinese zodiac signs to spectacular solar phenomena in Taiwan.

There will be six themes for the upcoming releases in this year's fourth quarter, including "Manhattanhenge" sunset, the Year of the Ox, lighthouses, endangered birds, Chinese poetry, and ancient Chinese landscape paintings.

Manhattanhenge describes when the sun sets in a view framed by a canyon of buildings, as it does from time to time on 42nd street in New York City.

Scheduled to be issued on Oct. 28, the Manhattanhenge sunset series is comprised of two stamps, one depicting sunset in Taichung and the other capturing Kaohsiung at dusk, with denominations of NT$8 and NT$35, respectively.

Manhattanhenges have occurred in Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Taipei, drawing large crowds trying to catch a glimpse of the stunning spectacle when the sun is framed by towering skyscrapers.

The lighthouse series, spotlighting coastal beacons in Keelung, Tainan, Kinmen, Hualien, and the Spratly Islands, will be available beginning Nov. 23. The endangered avian species set that seeks to promote wildlife conservation bears the images of black-winged kites, peregrine falcons, crested goshawks, and ospreys and will be released on Dec. 8.

As is customary, the official postal service will also roll out Chinese zodiac-themed stamps marking the Lunar New Year on Dec. 1. With 2021 being the year of the ox, the stamps will feature oxen in black and orange designs for the festive occasion.

(Chunghwa Post images)