Lot# 9062

in early 1956, the Chinese People’s Post experimented with a concessionary airmail rate to USA via Prague, reducing the inclusive rate for a 10g airmail letter from 102 fen to 70 fen, applicable only to the eastern United States. The concession was discontinued from August 1956 due to misuse by senders addressing mail to the central and western USA. The first cover, posted on 14 July 1956 from Peking to New York, was correctly franked at 70 fen (22 fen for surface letter + 48 fen airmail surcharge per 10g) and routed via Prague, showing the short-lived concessionary rate. The second cover, dated 10 August 1956 from Peking via Canton (13 August b/s) and Hong Kong to New York, also franked at 70 fen and endorsed “via Prague,” had this routing deleted by the postal office and replaced with “via Hong Kong.” As the concession had been cancelled, the correct rate was 102 fen, resulting in a 32-fen shortfall, with an “80 centimes” postage due mark applied on arrival. Together, these covers vividly document the rise and termination of the 1956 Prague Route concession for airmail to USA, illustrating postal rate changes and route adjustments during the late 8th Postal Tariff Period, a significant case study in mid-1950s Sino-American postal relations and air transport history.