Lot# 9039

airmail cover sent from Mawanchang to Kuala Belait, franked with ten C and R series issues, totaling 9,000 yuan (RMB), tied by “Mawanchang 16.11.52” cds and with transit markings of Wuhan (18.11.52), Canton (22.11.52), Jesselton (26.11.52) and “Kuala Belait 29.11.52” arrival. The cover was posted during the 6th Postal Tariff Period (November 1, 1950 - April 30, 1953), when the correct inclusive rate for a 10-gram airmail letter to Asia was 6,700 yuan, composed of 2,500 yuan for the first 20 grams of international surface postage plus 4,200 yuan for the airmail surcharge per 10 grams. However, it was incorrectly franked at 9,000 yuan, following the outdated 5th Postal Tariff Period rate (2,500 + 6,500 yuan), thus overpaying by 2,300 yuan. As Mawanchang was a small local postal agency in an inland region, postal clerks were likely unfamiliar with the revised airmail tariff and therefore continued to apply the previous rate. This cover is an exceptionally rare example of international airmail originating from inland China, carried through a route: Manwanchang - Wuhan - Canton - Hong Kong - Jesselton (British North Borneo) - Seria - Kuala Belait (Brunei). The cover demonstrates the gradual adaptation of inland postal offices to the People’s Post unified postal tariff system in the early years of the PRC. Despite the postage error, the franking is complete, the route well-documented, and the markings are crisp and legible. This item serves as an important postal history artifact, illustrating both the administrative challenges and operational realities of postal modernization in the early 1950s, and is of significant philatelic and exhibition value.