With 70 postal-themed post offices scattered in urban and rural areas of Beijing, postal culture is helping to lead the resurgence of national cultural trends, becoming independent hotspots for online celebrities and forming a new form of "travel-posting" business. It is reported that by 2024, the number of themed post offices in Beijing will increase to 100.
Receiving up to ten thousand people per day, closing as late as 22:00
During the Lantern Festival, the atmosphere on Qianmen Street was festive and lively with no shortage of tourists. The New National Trend themed post office, located slightly south on the street, was extremely popular. In the approximately 30-square-meter shop, a replica of the first generation postal van attracted many people to take photos for check-ins. The surrounding display tables were filled with postal-themed and national trend cultural and creative products. Green mailbox keychains, refrigerator magnets derived from the Year of the Long stamps, were particularly popular. Various types of postcards were also being sent to various parts of the country through the basic postal services provided here.
At major transportation hubs with many returning travelers to Beijing, such as the first floor of Daxing International Airport, there is also a themed post office. Customers occasionally come to mail items, collect stamps, or purchase cultural and creative products. The 24-hour personalized postcard printing machine in the airport prints exclusive postcards for over forty travelers each day.
Many themed post offices welcomed crowds during this year's holidays. After reopening for the Lantern Festival, the Luguoxiaoyue themed post office located inside Wanping City received over a thousand visitors daily on average, with the experience of making homemade embossed postcards being very popular. The Olympics Cultural themed post office located in Olympic Park received over two thousand visitors daily on average, with its "Olympic Park 18 Scenic Stamps" attracting long lines of tourists.
Traditional outlets transform to create new business models through "post" culture
Themed post offices refer to post offices opened by China Post by combining traditional postal services with cultural creativity based on its own resource advantages. Currently, Beijing has a total of 733 postal outlets, with 70 themed post offices as of the end of February this year, forming four major clusters: Red Culture such as Museum of The Communist Party of China themed post offices, Beijing-style Culture such as Beihai Royal Postal Station themed post offices, Ancient Capital Culture such as National Museum of China and Forbidden City themed post offices, and Innovative Culture such as Space and Olympics themed post offices. Some of these evolved from traditional postal outlets, while others were newly established in popular cultural and tourism destinations.
Compared to other types of cultural and creative spaces, themed post offices have their own distinct cultural heritage. Some precious themed post offices have exclusive postal codes, which contain important information. The vast majority of themed post offices also have their own cultural stamps—meaning that in addition to the location and date information, the daily stamps will also add exclusive creative elements: the stamp of the Central Axis themed post office features the main hall of the Hong'en Temple, while the stamp of the National Center for the Performing Arts has the image of its iconic architecture in the middle of the lake, and the stamp of the Gubei Water Town Great Wall themed post office features its city gate.
Postal + cultural tourism mutual empowerment gradually becoming a traffic label
Beijing's themed post offices are the result of the mutual promotion of postal and cultural tourism, and they are also mutually empowering. Before the Spring Festival this year, Beijing introduced ten new Beijing gift products to the public, among which the "Clouds and Mist, Loong Ascends in the East" postal booklet and the three-dimensional note of the Jia Chen Taihe Palace occupied two seats. The Spring Festival cultural and creative product "Memories of Old Beijing City Tower" combined postcards and sandalwood sachets, which have sold over 2,000 sets since its launch on January 18th. Last year, the China Post Space Post Office issued a commemorative envelope to celebrate the return of the Shenzhou 16 manned spaceflight mission, the successful launch of the Shenzhou 17 manned spaceflight mission, and the successful docking of the Shenzhou 17 manned spaceflight mission with the Chinese space station, sparking a buying frenzy. "Postal" themed cultural and creative products are continuously enriching cultural consumption.
The rise of stamping frenzy has also made the birthplace of stamping culture—the post office—a popular attraction. During the Spring Festival, the China Post Long Yin Set of Seals, which collects the patterns of the four rounds of the Year of the Loong zodiac stamps, was made into a series of color seals, sparking a stamping frenzy. Last year, Beijing's themed post offices carnival successively participated in the Wangjing Xiaojie, the 7th China Opera Culture Week, and the Beijing International Cultural and Tourism Consumption Expo, breaking through traditional boundaries and attracting fans.
At the same time, themed post offices collaborating with an increasing number of cultural and tourism venues, landmarks, and popular scenic spots have also provided inspiration for the development and design of more postal products. The Forbidden City Post Office has issued special stamps based on several famous paintings in the Forbidden City's collection. The collections of the Museum of The Communist Party of China and the Xiangshan Revolutionary Memorial Hall have also inspired a series of red postal products. Three months after the opening of the National Center for the Performing Arts themed post office, the first musical instrument themed postal exhibition was held at the National Center for the Performing Arts, enriching the dissemination channels of postal culture.
In January of this year, the Beijing Municipal Postal Administration, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and the China Post Group Corporation Beijing Branch jointly issued the "Notice on Further Promoting the Integration and Development of Cultural Tourism and Postal Services," emphasizing the promotion of the integration and development of postal services and tourism in Beijing and further advancing the construction of themed post offices in Beijing's tourist attractions. Shortly thereafter, themed post offices will also be opened at the Beijing Library, Yuyuantan Park, Mutianyu Great Wall, the National Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and movie-themed post offices. The number of themed post offices in Beijing is expected to reach 100 by the end of the year.
Can packages still be sent in themed post offices?
Beijing's themed post offices are divided into two types: those that are transformed from traditional postal outlets and those that are newly established in popular cultural and tourism destinations. The former will retain universal postal service functions, including mailing letters, parcels, express delivery, and subscribing to newspapers and periodicals. The service content of the latter needs to be consulted based on specific regulations of the outlet. Their operating hours are usually determined according to the operating hours of the scenic spots and venues where they are located, and may be extended during peak tourist seasons.
Translator: ZHANG Bo
Reviewer: TANG Yuxin
