Lot# 9027

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.