The French national post office La Poste started selling two sets of stamps on Monday to celebrate the upcoming Chinese lunar New Year, which will usher in the "Year of the Pig," and to commemorate the 55th anniversary of China-France relations.

The set of stamps with mountain in the background for domestic posts. (Photo: La Poste)

The stamps were designed by Chinese born French painter Chen Jianghong. The set with the mountain in the background will be used for domestic posts while the set with the lanterns will be used for international posts. The two sets are valued at 4.4 euro and 6.5 euro respectively. La poste issued 400,000 mountain stamps and 200,000 lantern stamps.

The set of stamps with lanterns in the background for international posts. (Photo: La Poste)

This year's stamps mark the 14th Chinese Lunar Calendar series. The first series was issued in 2005 for the zodiac year of rooster. Since then, the French post has issued a special set every year to celebrate Chinese New Year.