airmail cover sent from Chenghai, Kwangtung to Singapore, franked with 17 mixed stamps of Central and South China Liberated Areas, totaling 18,300 yuan (RMB). The cover is tied by “Tenghai 25.3.50” cds, carried by the coastal shipping route between Swatow and Hong Kong, arriving 27 March, and then forwarded by Overseas Air Transport to Singapore. This cover was mailed during the Third Postal Tariff Period under the RMB postal system (5 March - 14 July 1950), when the airmail surcharge for Asia was increased from 5,700 yuan to 7,600 yuan per 10 grams. The postage was correctly paid as follows: 3,100 yuan for the first 20 grams of international surface postage, plus 15,200 yuan for the airmail surcharge to “Asia” (7,600 yuan × 2), making a total of 18,300 yuan. A fine and accurately franked example of early PRC airmail to Southeast Asia, this cover illustrates the use of Liberated Area issues during the transitional phase of China’s unified postal and currency system. It also highlights the importance of the Swatow-Hong Kong coastal route in facilitating international mail transport during the early 1950s. With precise postage accounting and clear postal markings, this cover represents a rare and significant postal history example of early PRC airmail correspondence to Asia, of great value for both study and exhibition.

during this period, the inclusive rate for “Other Countries” airmail was 14,500 yuan per 10g (2,800 yuan surface letter rate for the first 20g plus 11,700 yuan air surcharge), and 26,200 yuan for 20g. The first, posted 18 July 1950 from Shanghai to Los Altos, California, is franked with eight stamps, totaling 26,200 yuan, tied by “Shanghai 1950.7.18” cds. A neatly presented and accurately rated double-weight airmail letter, it was likely routed via Canton and Hong Kong before being carried by Pan American Airways (PAA) trans-Pacific service to the U.S. The second, posted 21 July 1950 from Tikhoi, Kwangtung, to Cleveland, Ohio, is franked with four stamps, totaling 14,500 yuan, tied by “Tikhoi 1950.7.21” cds. Sent from a third-class post office, it represents the standard 10g airmail rate to America and followed the same route via Canton and Hong Kong to USA by PAA. Both covers illustrate the precision of the PRC’s early postal accounting and the smooth functioning of its international airmail service during the 4th Postal Tariff Period. Properly rated and clearly postmarked, these rare surviving examples hold significant postal history and exhibition value.

during this period, airmail letters sent to European destinations classified as “Other Countries” were required to be prepaid at the standard rate of 14,500 yuan per 10g (comprising 2,800 yuan for the first 20g of international surface postage and an airmail surcharge of 11,700 yuan per 10g). The first, posted 5 August 1950 from Tientsin to Paris, is franked with four stamps, totaling 14,500 yuan and tied by “Tientsin 1950.8.5” cds. The cover was routed via Canton and Hong Kong, then carried to France on an Air France flight. A well-preserved and correctly rated early PRC airmail to Europe. The second, posted 8 August 1950 from Kweilin, Kwangsi, to Wokingham, bears 14,500 yuan in postage, tied by “Kweilin 50.8.8” cds and with “Canton 50.8.11” transit on reverse, showing transfer via Hong Kong for onward dispatch by BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) flight to the United Kingdom. This short one-month tariff period produced very few surviving examples, most routed through Hong Kong, making these excellent illustrations of the early PRC’s organized international airmail network. Both items are excellent representations of the precision and consistency of the PRC’s postal administration during this transitional phase, illustrating the smooth integration of China’s early international airmail service with global routes.

airmail cover sent from Shanghai to Malang, Java (Indonesia) , franked with five stamps totaling 7,600 yuan (RMB) on the front, corresponding to the previous postal rate. The cover was cancelled with “Shanghai 50.8.8” cds. Upon inspection, the Shanghai Post Office determined that the franking was insufficient under the new Fourth Postal Tariff Period (15 July - 15 August 1950), which required 10,000 yuan for airmail to Asia. The cover was therefore marked with a return-to-sender slip and officially returned on 9 August for the sender to affix the missing postage. The sender subsequently added three additional stamps totaling 2,500 yuan on the reverse (overpaid by 100 yuan), which were cancelled “Shanghai 50.8.10”. The cover was then accepted and forwarded to its destination. After correction, the total postage fully complied with the new Fourth Postal Tariff Period rate: 2,800 yuan for the first 20 grams of international surface postage plus 7,200 yuan airmail surcharge per 10 grams to Asia, totaling 10,000 yuan. This cover vividly demonstrates the postal adjustment and enforcement process during the early years of the People’s Republic of China’s unified RMB postal system, reflecting how postal authorities handled underpaid international mail amid rate reforms. With its return notation, dual cancellations, and clear evidence of supplementary postage, it provides a detailed record of postal administration and routing practice. A rare and important example of early PRC airmail to Asia during the transitional implementation of new postal tariffs, of significant postal history and exhibition value.

registered airmail cover sent from Peking to Gottwaldov, Czechoslovakia, franked with four stamps totaling 17,200 yuan (RMB), tied by “Peking 50.8.16” cds, bearing red registration label “No.7020.” The cover was routed via Moscow, utilizing the newly established Peking-Moscow air route, which had been officially opened on 1 July 1950 under Sino-Soviet postal cooperation. This cover was mailed on the first day of the Fifth Postal Tariff Period (16 August - 31 October 1950). During this period, the postal administration introduced a new airmail surcharge category for “East Europe”, applicable to socialist countries such as Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, with a reduced airmail fee of 6,500 yuan per 10 grams, considerably lower than the 10,500 yuan per 10 grams rate applied to “Other Countries.” However, since this letter was posted on the very first day of the new rate period, the postal clerk apparently had not yet received notification of the revised tariffs and thus calculated postage at the former “Other Countries” rate. The postage was computed as follows: 2,500 yuan for the first 20 grams of international surface postage, plus 10,500 yuan airmail surcharge per 10 grams, and 4,200 yuan for registration, for a total of 17,200 yuan, whereas the correct rate for “East Europe” should have been 13,200 yuan, resulting in an overpayment of 4,000 yuan. This rare first-day usage clearly illustrates the transitional confusion that occurred during the implementation of the new postal rate system. It also demonstrates the early functioning of the China-Soviet airmail route, marking one of the first examples of restored postal communication between China and Central Europe under the unified RMB postal system. A highly significant postal history item, valuable for its documentation of rate misapplication, postal reform, and early PRC international airmail development, and of great importance for research and exhibition. Cover with glue stains at stamps, but still a very important postal history item.