He says the stamps also convey wishes for good fortune, as wang - the Chinese word for a dog's woof - is pronounced just like a character that means prosperity.

China Post has issued special stamps every year featuring the Chinese zodiac animal that corresponds to the lunar year since 1980.

The dog that signifies the upcoming Chinese New Year is the 11th animal in this repeating cycle of 12 creatures.

China Post has regularly commissioned renowned artists to design stamps for Chinese New Year, including Han Meilin for the Year of the Rooster in 2017 and Huang Yongyu for the Year of the Monkey in 2016.

Zhou is hailed as a visual designer of New China.

At 30, he and his wife Chen Ruoju painted the first portrait of the late chairman Mao Zedong that was hung on the Tian'anmen Gate's tower before the inauguration ceremony of the People's Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.

Zhou was also involved in the designs of the national emblem and the previous series of renminbi notes.