The China Post has issued a stamp in commemoration of the 40th National Stamp Popularity Poll, the first stamp with a near-field communication (NFC) chip in the country and the first of its kind in the world.

The data stored in the chip can be read through China Post’s app thanks to the NFC technology, which is widely used in fields such as commodity anti-counterfeiting, electronic price tags in new retail and smart dinner plates.

The technology provides a new interactive experience for stamp collectors. With an embedded 120um chip, consumers can activate their mobile phone’s NFC function, open the China Post’s app, and place the phone close to the number “40” on the stamp to read data, including the chip’s identity and serial number.

The chip can record each time of information reading and features functions such as anti-counterfeiting traceability and electronic anti-counterfeiting through data record analysis.

The combination of internet technologies and traditional stamps not only reflects the advantages of high-end anti-counterfeiting technology, but also meets the needs of anti-counterfeiting traceability, and the application of information technologies, a major innovation in China Post’s issuance of stamps.