China Stamp

Buy China Stamps - More than 77 thousand

China stamps are among some of the most famous, rare, and valuable stamps in the world. Any true collector knows that stamps of this genre are a must-have, and there is a quiet but very active market for them.

The values of Chinese stamps range from almost nothing to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The collection consists of the following sections:

- China stamps - Imperial Period (1878 - 1911) - over 500

- China stamps - Republic Period (1912 - 1949) - over 2700

- China stamps - 1915-1950 Local Issues - over 1270

Sinkiang 1915-49 * Manchuria 1927-33 * Yunnan 1927-34 * Sichuan 1933-34 * Central China 1948-49 * Northern China 1949-50 * North-Eastern 1946-48 * Western-China 1949-50 * Southern-China 1949-50 * South-Western China 1949-50

- China stamps - Republic of China, Taiwan stamps (1945 - to date) - over 15700

- stamps of China - People's Republic - General Issues (1949 - to date) - over 37600

- stamps of China- Japanese Occupation Issues (1941- 1945) - over 850

1932-45 Manchuria (Manchukuo) * 1941-45 Northern China * 1943-45 Shanghai & Nanjing

- Foreign Offices in China

- Shanghai and other Treaty Portst (1865 - 1898)

- Formosa (1886 - 1895)

- Tibet stamps - Chinese Post Offices (1910 - 1912)

- stamps of Tibet - Independent State Issues (1912 - 1959)

- Manchurrian Local Overprints (1945 - 1947)

- Hong Kong (1997-...) - over 15600

- Macau 1999-... Chinese admnistrative region - over 3400

A true collectors paradise !

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The history of the Chinese postal system stretches back at least to the year 1000 B.C. By the time Marco Polo visited the great empire in the 1100s, China maintained at least 10,000 different post offices. For more important postal deliveries, China employed a sophisticated system of professional letter carriers, known as the Min Hsin Chu. China's post was self-contained until the year 1727, when the country developed a mutual postal pact with its neighbor, Russia.Despite the inevitability of communion with the West, China sealed off its borders and its postal system. However, following its defeat in war against Britain, China ended up adopting Western-style postal stamps. The first China stamp to go to print was called the ''Large Dragon.'' On May 1st, 1878, this stamp, which featured Chinese and Roman writing, first got distributed at the Shanghai post.The Chinese postal system produced a flurry of stamps in the late 1800s. In 1885, the Chinese produced a one-candareen stamp. During the 1880s, the government routed the majority of the nation's mail through one main station in Shanghai. However, seeing that this was impractical, officials opened 11 more post offices around the region. The elite Min Hsu Chin was finally dismantled in favor of a more Western-style postal service.Beginning in 1897, the Chinese Imperial Postal Service handled the vast majority of international and national mail. Bowing to economic pressure, the Chinese agreed to have Japan lithograph the country's first half-cent stamp, which was released in 1897. Many variations of this 1897 stamp exist, and it is considered a valuable collector's item.

1878 - 1911

Issues of the Imperial Maritime Customs Post

The first set of real Chinese stamps came into being in 1878 when the Post Office of the Qing Dynasty issued the Dalong or Giant Dragon stamps. They were printed from copperplate and bore the picture of a huge dragon against a background of clouds and waves. This set was issued three times:

Imperial Large Dragon 1878-1883

In 1885 and in 1888 six additional stamps became available.

Small Dragons

In 1894 nine additional stamps were issued. They are referred to as the "DOWAGER" Issue.

That was when the whole country celebrated the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi. She was the true ruler of the country at that time. This set is known in China as Long Life stamps. It consisted of nine different face value stamps. Each had a color variation and bore a picture of a dragon, a carp, a sailing boat, a peony flower, an evergreen, a large peach, or the Chiese character, shou, meaning longevity.

Lithographed in Shanghai 1994

Lithographed in Shanghai 1897

Issues of the Chinese Government Post 1897

Redrawn Designs Printed from New Stones 1897

Red Revenue Surcharges 1897

Imperial Chinese Post

Lithographed in Japan 1897

Dragon , Carp, Wild Goose

Chinese Imperial Post

Engraved in London 1898-1906

Dragon , Carp, Wild Goose

Temple of Heaven, Peking 1909

Offices in Tibet 1911