The Shanghai General Post Office Building: TheMostLuxurious Architecture in Far Eastern Postal Hist

Xizhen

Xizhen，whose original name is Zhu ，isa Shanghaiwriter.After publishingherbook Shanghai Roads in20O4，she started to travelalone in Shanghai on her own feet.After opening her city culture column，she consecutively published severalbooksaboutcityculture thatwerereprintedseveraltimesafter gettingreaders'attention.

Seae General Post Office Building.Under thesunlight，theriverglistens With rippling waves，reflecting the structure's elegant image.Nearby， thegracefuland sophisticated Sichuan Road Bridge，with its European continental charm， blends intoa scene richwith Shanghai-styleambiance，which hascaptivated countless painters andphotographers.

At No.276 North Suzhou Road， at the foot of the Sichuan Road Bridge，standsa majestic building， therenowned Shanghai General Post Office.Itis the earliestand largest postal landmark stillinuse in China，aswellasa testament to Shanghai's postal history.

\"Plum blossoms sent by courier， lettersdeliveredbyfish.\"In Shanghai，beforetheestablishment ofmodern postal services，all mailoperationsweredominated by government-run“postal relay stations\"and\"courier networks\" aswell as privatelyoperated \"letter offices\"In1861，the British authorities setup a post office in the British Concession of Shanghai，then known as the \"British Postal Service Office”or \"Great Britain Letter Office\" It handled mail correspondence for British expatriates in Shanghai andalso accepted international maildelivered by Chinese residentswithin theconcession. Subsequently， consulates of variouscountries in Shanghai established their own postal services，directlyaffiliatedwith their respective consulates or the relevantconcessionauthorities. In1878，Robert Hart，the then Inspector General of Customs， proposedtheestablishmentofan official modern postal service.Li Hongzhang，the Northern Trade

Minister of the Qing Dynasty， decided to trial postal operations in five locations： Shanghai， Beijing， Tianjin，Yantai，and Niuzhuang （now Yingkou），entrusting Hart with their management.The following year， these five postal offices began operating under the name\"Customs Postal Departments\"（in Chinese， “海關(guān)撥駟達(dá)書信館”with“撥駟 達(dá)\"being a phonetic rendering of \"post\"）.The Shanghai branch was named the“Shanghai Customs PostalDepartment\"（江海關(guān)撥駟 達(dá)書信館）.Two years later，itwas renamed the“Shanghai Customs Post Office”（江海關(guān)撥驅(qū)達(dá)局）and was located in the rear courtyard of the Shanghai Customs House. On March 20，1896，Emperor Guangxu issued an imperial decree officially establishing a national postal service，creating the position of postmaster general.Sir Robert Hart，the inspector general of Customs in Shanghai， was appointed to concurrently serve as the first postmaster general， overseeing the operations of the Great Qing Postal Service.A year later，the Jiang Customs Postal Bureau was officially renamed the“Shanghai Great Qing Dynasty Post Office\"（上海大清郵政局）， with its headquarters remainingat the original location.Around the sametime，the firstsubordinate branch office opened at the Wusong Customs station. Over time， post officesand agencieswere gradually establishedin bothurbanand rural areas，forming a comprehensive postalnetwork across Shanghai. In 1899，the“Shanghai Great Qing Dynasty Post Office\"was renamed the“ShanghaiGeneral PostOffice\"” （上海郵政總局）.Eight years later， the headquartersrelocated from its original site to a“New Building\"at No.9 Beijing Road.At that time，the Shanghai General Post Office was still under the jurisdiction of the Customs Bureau. It wasn't until May 1911 that the Qing government established the Ministry of Posts and Communications （郵傳部）， officially taking overnational postal administration from Customs. From then on，the postal service became independent， no longer tied to Customs，and the Shanghai General Post Officewas renamed the“Shanghai Post Office\"（上海 郵政局）.By the end of1911，the Shanghai Post Office placed an orderwith Britainfor1OORaleigh bicycles，marking the beginning ofbicycle-based mail deliveryin Shanghai.Followingthe Xinhai Revolution，the Shanghai Post Office was renamed the Shanghai PostalAdministration（上海郵務(wù) 管理局）.OnMarch1，1914，China joined the Universal Postal Union （UPU），and the Shanghai Postal Administrationwasdesignatedas an international mail exchange office，becoming the primary agency handling China's international postal communicationsat the time.

With the rapid expansion of Shanghai'spostalservices，the original office space on Beijing Road hadbecome inadequate. Tomeet growing demands，the Shanghai PostalAdministration establishedanewpostalhubat thenorthern end of Sichuan Road Bridgeata strategic location closetotheNorthRailwayStation and the shipping docks，ensuring convenientlandand water transport formail.InNovember 1922，the Shanghai Postal Administration independently raised fundsto purchase a 9.727- mu （approx. 6，485m² plotof land at the site.The existing structures，

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including theold Jimei Lane（集 美里），weredemolishedto make way foranew postalbuilding.The project was overseen by Hillas， thenheadoftheShanghaiPostal Administration，and designed bythe Britisharchitectural firm Stewardson，Spenceamp;Watson. Construction was carried out by the Chinese contractor Yuhongji Building Factory. Work officially commencedin December1922， and the building was completed in 1924.

This horseshoe-shaped edifice is amasterpieceofBritishclassical architecture，standing proudly with three sides facing the streets and its main facade overlooking Suzhou Creek，not far from the Bund.Ships entering the Huangpu Rivercould catch sight of this grand structure right at the mouth of Suzhou Creek.The building featuresa perimeter-style layout along NorthSuzhou Road，Sichuan North Road，and Tiantong Road. Its foundation is constructed with sturdy granite blocks，while the main facade isadorned with fine-grained pebble-dash stucco. The northern wall adjacent to Tiantong Road showcases a striking classic machine-made red brick exterior.The buildingembodies theeclecticarchitecturalstyle that prevailed in Europe and America from the early19th century to the early 2Oth century.While itsmain structure follows British classicalism. it artfully incorporates Romaninspired grand Corinthian columns anda Baroque-style clock tower. Standing four stories above ground with one basement level，the post office's most striking feature is its19 towering Corinthian columns-each spanning three floors-adorning

the main southern and eastern facades，aswellasthenortheastern corner.Thesecolossal Roman-style columns，reaching dozensofmeters in height，exude anair of dignity and grandeur，symbolizing the integrity and solemnity of the postal service. The most iconic feature is the 17th-century Italian Baroque-style clock tower and steeple，majestically positionedatthesoutheastcorner above the main entrance.The clock towerstands13meterstall，witha prominentthree-meter-diameter Roman numeralclockembedded onitsfacade.Flanking thebaseof the tower on both the eastern and westernsidesare two pebble-dash stucco torch sculptures，serving ascultural symbols of the postal service bringing hope to humanity. Above the clock tower risesa 17-meter-high and Baroque-style domed steeple.Below the steeple isasquare pedestaladorned with double columns at each corner， whilean 8.2-meter-high flagpole crowns the very top. On either side ofthe steeple'sbase standsaset of bronze sculptures depicting Greek figures，making this ensemble one of the defining architectural signaturesof the Shanghai General Post Office Building. One group consists of three figures holding an earlylocomotive，aship'sanchor，and a communication cable，respectively， symbolizing China's transportation and communication sectorsin their developmental stages.The other groupalso features three figures：At the center is Hermes，the Greek god of communication，flanked by Eros， the god of love，and Aphrodite，the goddess of beauty.This ensemble represents the postal service as a divine messenger，facilitating the exchange of human emotions. Regrettably，the original sculptures weredestroyed in1966.Fortunately， astudent fromanartschool had secretly made plaster castsof them. Inthe1990s，skilled craftsmen used these casts to recreate the sculptures in bronze，whichwere thenreinstalled oneitherside of the steeple's base.

The exterior grandeur of the building is matched by its equally elegant interiordesign. Waxed floors，grand steel-framed windows，heating fireplaces， emery-embeddedstair treads，and brass railings leavevisitors inawe at every turn.Ascending the steps fromthe mainentrancebeneath theclock tower，one entersa circularvestibule flanked bytwin marble spiralstaircases.Climbing thesestairs leadsto the secondfloor tradinghall-renowned asthe“FirstHalloftheFarEast.\" Stretchingalong Suzhou Creek all the way to the western end of thebuilding，thehall'svastness isimmediately striking.The hall is crowned with palatial curved chandeliers，while the floor is adorned with intricatemosaic tiles.On eitherside stand marble counters topped with exquisitely carved bronze railings，and the walls are clad in polished marble， creating a dazzling visual splendor unmatched among postal buildings in China at the time.The building houses a total of 187 rooms across its floors.The basement，ground floor，and second floor are used formail sorting，distribution，and public operations respectively. The third floor features office spaceswith interior corridors，and the fourth floor accommodates staff dormitories with exterior galleries.The basement served as theparcel sorting hub，while the central courtyard functioned as a loading dock for incoming and outgoing mail.The building was also equipped with cuttingedge postal facilities from the 1920s-1930s，including spiral mail chutes，wooden chain-conveyor belts，and freight elevators.On December1，1924，the Shanghai Postal Administration officially relocated from Beijing Road to this magnificent North Suzhou Road edifice.Its flagship public hall opened simultaneously， instantly becoming the largest postal service hall in the Far East.

Upon its completion，the Shanghai General Post Office Building becamethemost luxurious architecturalmasterpieceinthe history of Far Eastern postal services.With itsdistinctivecharm， itstandsmajesticallyalongthe banks of Suzhou Creek，forming a harmoniousarchitectural dialogue with the Bund's skyline.

In 2005，following extensive renovations，parts of the Shanghai General Post Office Building - including its central atrium on the first floor，rooftop terrace， and former office spaces on the second floor facing Tiantong Road -were converted into the Shanghai Postal Museum. On January 1，2006，the museum officiallyopened as China's first postal-themed museum.Through multimedia exhibits，it traces the evolution of China’s postal system， showcasing its transformation fromancient courier stations to the modern postal era.Visitors can explore an extraordinary collection of historical mailbox replicas and original specimens alongside related postal vehicle models spanning different eras，including the green cast-iron postboxes from the Imperial Chinese Post period，the distinctive white special mailbox that facilitated mail exchanges between Shanghai and Nanjing during the Republic of China Postal Service era，as well as characteristic mailboxes from various countries.The courtyard atrium showcases meticulously crafted scale models of postal vehicles primarily from the lmperial Chinese Post and Republic of China Postal Service eras.At the center stands a replica of the horse-drawn carriage rented by the Shanghai General Post Office in 1909 for mail delivery.The southernmost section displays a scale model of one of the two French Clément-Bayard trucks acquired by the Shanghai Postal Administration in the spring of 1917 for transporting mail-its green livery bearing the inscription “China Post\"on the cargo compartment.The northernarea featuresa detailed replica of the mobile railway post office carriage established by the Shanghai General Post Offfice along the Shanghai-Nanking （Nanjing） railway line in November 1946，painted in traditional postal green with its interior furnishings faithfully reconstructed to period specifications. Gazing upward， visitorswillseeamodelaircraft suspended from the western ceiling of the atrium-a replica of the plane that inaugurated Shanghai's first regular airmail route onJuly8，1929，servicing the Shanghai-Nanjing segment of the Hu-Rong Airway. The museum's collection further encompasses mail steamships，early postboxes， theoriginalmemorialtoEmperor Guangxu approving the national postal service's establishment，the “Great Qing Postal Regulations” and various precious philatelic artifacts including historic covers and postmarks，vividly recreating the evolution of postal history. An elevator provides direct access to the building's rooftop garden， where a U-shaped observation deck and evergreen gardensawait. From this vantage point， visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Suzhou Creek and the picturesque landscapes along both banks of the Huangpu River.

Nearlya century ofhistory has burnished the Shanghai General Post Office Building-once celebrated as the“First Hall of the Far East”-into anevenmorecaptivatinglandmark. Its graceful silhouette，standing in harmonious dialogue with the classical architecture of the Bund， forms an enduring and unfading vistawithinthe Bund Historical Conservation Area.