A set of three postcards has been issued in Shanghai to raise fund to help needy people.

This is China's first set of postcards released for this purpose since 1949.

The postcards were jointly designed by the Shanghai Municipal Post Bureau and the Shanghai Charity Foundation, and a total of 150,000 sets will be put into circulation.

All proceeds from the issue will be used by the charity foundation to aid the handicapped and other needy people in the city.

The Shanghai Charity Foundation has received some 200 million yuan worth of donations since it was founded in 1994.

In the past six years, the foundation has helped more than 160 orphaned children find a home with local families, and enabled some 7,500 poor students to continue their education.