CHINA'S  POSTAL  SERVICE: A  BRIEF  HISTORY

The origin of China's postal and communication services date as far back ad the Shang Dynasty (c 16th-11th century BC). There were records about organized courier services on unearthed bones and tortoise shells from that time. The messenger and military communication by fire and smoke fro m beacon towers developed fast in the Zhou and Qin Dynasties (c 11th-2nd century BC), satisfying the needs of frontier defense and state unity ,ad well as transferring intelligence and political massages. The horse courier service, even during those early years, was well organized ,strictly regulated ,and highly efficient.

The fire-smoke system began to phase out in the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).As an institution, however, it was not till the late Qing that the chain of courier posts and beacons was replaced by a modern equivalent .The Civic Letters Bureau, which first appeared during Emperor Jiajing's reign in the Ming Dynasty, was by now at its heyday with thousands of bureaus throughout the country ,handling mails for both commercial and  civil   purposes. These  bureaus  were  closed  in  the early years of the Republic(1911-1949) period.

What is now termed the "contemporary postal service" was actually a natural outgrowth from the ancient regime of the horse messenger posts. Taking shape in the late Qing dynasty ,the modern postal service underwent through four stages. 1)The Customs House running a concurrent mail transfer service; 2)the Customs House operated a postal service on a trial basis; 3)the Great Qing Post Service and 4)the Postal of the Republic of China(1919-1949).

In 1878,when the Customs House was experimented with a separate postal service ,the now-famous grand dragon stamps were issued, After Emperor Guangxu ratified in 1896 for its establishment, the Great Qing Postal Service made sizable achievements thanks to the support by conscious people both in and out of the court. And thanks to the joint efforts of both foreign and Chinese postal service staff members, the Postal Service turned out to become one of the fastest growing sectors in productivity at that time.

Following the fine tradition of the Great Qing service, the  Postal Service of the Republic registered a remarkable achievement in business and coverage .it restructured the distribution of the postal zones and abolished the old horse courier posts. It unified the whole service in the country by recovering the postal sovereignty from foreign post offices .And it spared little effort in building up the network of post offices and routes ,in making a profit and providing better services.

During the period when China was in the grips of the Northern warlords ,the postal service outshone all other industries, representing the peak figure in the hitherto history of postal service .During the war against Japan ,China's postal service suffered tremendously from the Japan invaders. It nevertheless tried its best in support of the war efforts against the aggressors. Upon the victory in 1945, however, the postal service found it almost impossible to recover from the all-out civil war initiated by the Nationalist regime. The postal service of the Republic of China came to close in 1949, when the New China is founded.

The "Red" postal service, namely the postal services operated in the liberated area, constituted an important development of the modern postal service. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, this service proved indispensable in the revolutionary cause. It assured wartime communication for the people, and trained thousands of backbone messengers. Abiding by the principles of "a people's post and telecommunication service must serve the people", the Red Postal Service prepared a solid foundation for the New China in establishing and development its own postal industry based on that of the Republic period.

China's postal service entered a   new era with the establishment of the ministry of post and telecommunication and the state postal bureau of the people's Republic of China late 1949 in  Beijing.

• The inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells from Yin Dynasty ruins in Anyang of Henan province, which earliest reflected postal communication (by Wang Qi).
• Mengcheng Post, located in Jiangsu province, was inaugurated by the Gaoyou county magistrate named Huang Kiming in the 8th Jongwu year in Ming Dynasty.After Emperor Chengzu moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing ,the state political center was faraway from the rich South. With two capitals existing at the same time there was a heavy traffic and busy contacts between the North and South. The importance of Mingcheng Post, therefore, became more and more outstanding. Possessing more than 200rooms,130postal horses,18postal boats and more than 200people as servers and couriers, Mengcheng Post performed the function of post office, hotel and transportation port as well. Mengcheng is one of the better sustained ancient posts in China. 
• The stone sculpture of ancient post horse of Gaoyou Post.
• The Cock-Crow Mount Post, located at the foot of the Mount Cock-crow, was first built in the 18th year of Yongle Emperor in Ming Dynasty. It's a comparatively big existing ancient post in China. It got its name from the Mount ,and the city was developed and became known due to the post.
• The ancient Cock-Crow Post.
• The Grand Dragon Stamps distributed in 1878 collection of China Stamp Museum.
• The Red Revenue stamps distributed on Feb.2nd,1897,collection of China Stamp Museum.