The Postal Rates of Manchukuo

For months prior to the formation of Manchukuo the Chinese Post Office in Manchuria was subjected to serious harassment from the Japanese. As a result of this the Chinese authorities withdrew their staff and ceased to work 24th July 1932 (for more information about this click here). The Japanese were well prepared and re-opened  Post Offices on 26th July 1932. After the Japanese takeover Chinese stamps were valid for postal use in Manchukuo until 7th September 1932.

The list of postal rates shown below is still under review and will be subject to change as more information becomes available. If anyone finds a postal table not shown below I would appreciate it if you could send me a scan for translation, all new information and suggestions are welcome.

The lists below are organised into different classes of mail, both China and Japan had main 5 classes of domestic mail and these are outlined below. Manchukuo bases these classes on the Japanese model. It is sometimes hard to judge where one category ends and another begins.

The basic classes are shown below, plus Intra City Post. Very few books (if any) mention the Intra City (Same City) service. Local mail travelled at a greatly reduced rate and was often delivered on the same day. Local rates were suspended from November 1940.

It is good to see that the blind were being properly supported at this time with special rates for books and documents in Braille.

Other items

 Technically the class system did not apply to International mail, but I have organised these using the similar format to make the table easier to read. These lists are an overview of the most common mail types. A much wider range of services existed, such as Cash on Delivery, Insured mail, Contract Mail etc.,. Details of these can sometimes be found on special tariff tables along with other more obscure postal activities.

Note:- You may encounter the value "5 釐" in some postal tables, this is 5 li, and is equal to ½ fen, the smallest unit of currency available in Manchukuo (1000 li = 1 Yuan).

My thanks to Sylvain Vivance in France for providing the examples of the Manchukuoan tables shown, and to Richard Arent in the USA, for his magnificent translations of the same into English.

Domestic Postal Rates

City Post (Intra City)

Class 1 Mail

Class 2 Mail

Class 3 Mail

Class 4 Mail

Class 5 Mail

Small Parcels

Air Mail

Additional Services

** Airmail was discontinued within Manchukuo from 1942 due to the war, however certain sources dispute this and believe it continued to be used for domestic mail where available..

n/a = not available, blank spaces simply mean I have no information.

Postal Rates to Japan

Class 1 Mail

Class 2 Mail

Class 3 Mail

Class 4 Mail

Class 5 Mail

Small Parcels

Air Mail

Additional Services

n/a = not available, blank spaces simply mean I have no information.

Postal Rates to Korea & KLT

Class 1 Mail

Class 2 Mail

Class 3 Mail

Class 4 Mail

Class 5 Mail

Small Parcels

Air Mail*

Additional Services

** From 1937 - only registered mail could be expressed ie; letter rate + registration fee + express fee.

n/a = not available, blank spaces simply mean I have no information.

Postal Rates to China

Initially the stamps of Manchukuo were not recognised by China. Customers were charged again at twice Chinese postal rates by means of Postage Due stamps when the mail reached the Chinese Postal Service.

Class 1 Mail

Class 2 Mail

Class 3 Mail

Class 4 Mail

Class 5 Mail

Small Parcels

Air Mail

Additional Services

n/a = not available, blank spaces simply mean I have no information.

International Postal Rates

Standard Mail

Newspapers

Printed Matter

Commercial Mail

Small Parcels

Air Mail

Additional Services

Tariff Table Examples

1936 Postage rates shown of a Postcard Wrapper from Harbin.

Click here for more details (.xls file).

1937 Postal Tariff Issued by Hsinking Central Post Office. Click here for more details (.doc file).

1943 Fee Shedule from Red Cross Booklet