The Shanghai Post Office Museum is located on the second floor of the old General Post Office Building that was built around 1924 in a European style. Nowadays the building is a historical landmark.Shanghai was the main hub of China’s postal network during the years of the Republic of China. Later around 1914, China joined the international postal union and Shanghai became the central exchange for international mail. After 2003 the building’s courtyard and second floor space became a public museum. Although postal administration functions are moved out, there remains a retail post office. Visitors can purchase collectable stamps from a shop just outside the museum hall.

Getting There

The Postal Museum is on the second floor of the old General Post Office Building which is situated between North Suzhou Road and Tiantong Road.

If you are visting The Bund, then go to the north end and cross over the old bridge to Suzhou Road, turn left and go about two blocks. You can see the building from the bridge.

Address: 395 Tiantong Road and N. Sichuan Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, China, 200000

Cross-street Address in Chinese is: 北苏州路250号、天潼路395号

Website (Chinese): Shanghai Post Office Museum Website

Directions: Google Map & Info

See and Do

Entrance to the museum is free.

As of August 2017, the courtyard is closed to the public on Wednesday and Thursday. The opening times are usually 09:00 to 16:00 on Wed, Thur, Sat, Sun. Therefore weekends, although crowded, are your best bet for visiting if you really want to see it all. I went on a Wednesday and there were few people and I didn’t mind not going into the courtyard.

Photos from the Post Office Museum

You can spend an hour or more inside the museum. If you are a stamp collector or just interested then of course  more time may be needed. My favorite sections were the introduction of the history and the stamp collection room.

Look out for the revolutionary era stamps with scenes similar to the poster art that you can see at the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center.

Click on the images to see slideshow and captions with explanations.