with a portrait of the Queen or any British features would become invalid on the day of the handover. A "transitional" set of definitives was issued to prepare for the handover. Nicknamed the "neutral definitive stamps" (26 January 1997), they featured the skyline of Victoria Harbour with no British features. The neutral definitives could still be used after the handover, and colonial stamps could be exchanged up until July 31, 1997. Post-handover A set of commemorative stamp, celebrating the handover, was issued in 1997. The first definitive stamps were issued by the government on 18 October 1999, bearing the name "HONG KONG, CHINA". The stamps featured local sights and scenes. Between 1999 and 2020, three more sets of definitives were issued: The "East and West" series (2002), the birds of Hong Kong series (2006) and the "Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark" series (2014). See also China Philatelic Society of London China Stamp Society Hong Kong Philatelic Society Hong Kong Study Circle Revenue stamps of Hong Kong Sources Stanley Gibbons Ltd: various catalogues. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986. Webb, Francis Wynne (1961) The Philatelic and Postal History of Hong Kong and the Treaty Ports of China and Japan, Royal Philatelic Society London Further reading Gurevitch, R.N. Hong Kong Postage Stamps of the Queen Victoria Period: A Collector's Notebook (1993) Gurevitch, R.N. Hong Kong, Queen Victoria Adhesives:Volume 1 (2001) Gurevitch, R.N. Hong Kong, Queen Victoria Adhesives:Volume 2 (2001) Proud, E.B. The Postal History of the British Colonies: Hong Kong, Volume 1: 1841-1958(1989) Proud, E.B. First supplement to the above (1994) Proud, E.B. The Postal History of the British Post Offices Abroad (Far East) (1991) Proud, E.B. The Postal History of Hong Kong (2004) Schoenfeld, H.Cancellations of Hong Kong, The First 100 Years, 1841-1941 (1989) Schoenfeld, H.Hong Kong Postal Stationery (1991) Schoenfeld, H.Cancellations of the Treaty Ports of Hong Kong, 1850-1930 (1998) Halewood, N. Hong Kong Airmails 1945-1995 (2000; HKSC publication) Halewood, N. & Antscherl, D. A Study of the Definitive Adhesives of King George VI (1992; HKSC publication) Halewood, N. & Antscherl, D. A Study of Hong Kong Definitives: King Edward VII and King George V (1995; HKSC publication) Hong Kong Study Circle The Philatelic History of Hong Kong, Volume 1 : The Adhesives(1984) References External links Hong Kong Study Circle China Philatelic Association, Hong Kong Hong Kong Security Markings Study Group Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities