Lot# 9070

during this postal period, reductions were made to the airmail rates for international correspondence, including letters, postcards, printed matter, and samples. The rate for international aerogrammes was standardised at 4,600 yuan (or 46 fen in new RMB) per item, regardless of destination or route. The first example, posted on 13 December 1955 from Hankow to Leningrad, was correctly franked with three stamps, totaling 4,600 yuan in old RMB, bearing a 24 December 1955 arrival marking, a correct-rate aerogramme in the pre-reform currency. The second, mailed on 4 June 1956 from Chumkong, Kwangtung to Moscow, was correctly franked with four stamps, totaling 46 fen in new RMB, routed via Canton on 6 June and delivered in Moscow on 15 June. Both covers accurately represent the standard aerogramme rate to the Soviet Union during the 8th Postal Tariff Period, demonstrating the smooth postal transition between the old and new RMB systems and reflecting the close Sino-Soviet postal exchanges of the 1950s. These are significant examples for the study of early PRC international aerogramme practices.