The Southwest China Liberation area is composed of what in 1949 were the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Xikang. In 1951, Tibet was added as the PRC took back control of this area. Today that would include Yunnan, Tibet, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Guizhou. See the map below, taken from the PRC catalogue.
There are 130 different stamps in this area according to the PRC stamp catalogue. The JPS lists 157 stamps. Yang lists 237, Scott 59, and Gibbons 64.
This is another area that is not widely collected outside of China. This area is overall characterized by many different minority areas and it is a marvelous place to visit if you are headed to China. But caution should be exercised when planning a trip. When I spent ten (10) days in Tibet in 2001 I can assure you that at no time did I not have a splitting headache. Two aspirin every four hours kept it at bay, but even at night I would wake when the asprin wore off. Others were not as fortunate, and failed to take enough aspirin. Travel in the rest of this area is a real pleasure, far off the beaten path and a chance to visit with many wonderful minority peoples.
This area has a spotty history with the liberation of China. Minority peoples were often unsure of the goals of the budding communist movement, and mistrust was rampant. The Long March of the communist forces passed through some of this area, and many contacts that would serve the future government were made at this time.
The Southwest China Liberation Area as
identified by the PRC stamp catalogue.
Page 210.
Notes
The Southwest China LAS stamps are pretty straightforward and easy to identify, unlike the East LAS. But overprints do present a challenge. One should be careful of these as catalogue illustrations provide a guide for the forger and unscrupulous. Adding to the difficulty is that many stamps pictured in catalogues are used issues with much detail lacking.
Many of these stamps are not encountered often.
You do have to be somewhat careful of the illustrations in the Yang catalogue.
There are a minimum number of varieties in all catalogues, most probably due to most isues being issues printed elsewhere and overprinted in this area.
All the Yang identified stamps are in the PRC, but many Yang numbers are in the "Local Southwest Area" category.
All stamps in Scott are in the PRC.
All Gibbons stamps are in the PRC.