Stamps printed depicting ancient Nianbadu town in Jiangshan, a county-level city in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, are issued on May 19. [Photo/WeChat account: quzhoutv]

Stamps showing the ancient Nianbadu town in Jiangshan, a county-level city in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, were issued in the town on May 19, National Tourism Day in China.

The stamps feature authentic Nianbadu buildings and Huizhou-style architecture, a unique local style, as well as local residents and animals.

By noon that day, Quzhou sold out a total of 16,866 sets in just two hours.

In addition to Nianbadu, a third set of ancient Chinese town stamps also include three other ancient towns from Hunan and Hebei provinces and Tianjin city.

With a history of more than 900 years, Nianbadu was a transportation hub in ancient times. Today, 36 residential buildings built in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911) remain intact.

Its colorful human landscape, unsophisticated folk customs and profound culture make the ancient town especially radiant among its other counterparts in China.

More than 4,000 residents speaking nine different dialects still keep their thousand year old work and rest time, beginning work at sunrise and going home at sunset.