GUANGZHOU, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's State Post Bureau issued a set of commemorative stamps on Sunday to mark the 140th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, forefather of China's democratic revolution.

The set, containing a stamp valued at 1.5 yuan and three others valued at 80 cents each, is available at post offices across the country starting Sunday, said an official with the Guangdong Provincial Post Bureau.

The stamps were launched at the Zhongshan University which was just named after Dr. Sun.

The designs on the four stamps include the former residence of Dr. Sun, the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangdong, and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Dr. Sun is known as a "great revolutionary and statesman" who fought against feudalism and imperialist aggression and for the independence and freedom of the Chinese people.

He was born in 1866 in Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City) in Guangdong Province and died of illness in Beijing on March 12, 1925.

Also on Sunday, Hong Kong issued a set of four stamps, with the designs featuring Dr. Sun's image from different periods of his life.

A series of activities including gatherings, publications and symposiums have been held across the country in recent days to celebrate Dr. Sun's birth.