Today in Postal History

  

Chinese Imperial Post Internal Usage
May 9, 1903

This simple commercial cover was used by a westerner in Shanghai.
There are no Chinese characters added for use of postal personnel.
Apparently the post office was familiar with mail addressed
only in western script in Shanghai and Tsingtau.

Tsingtau, now Qingdao, is a Shantung Peninsula
port city on the Yellow Sea southeast of Beijing.
To me, it is famous for its beer!

There are two Shanghai CDS.

The cover is franked with four 1c. ocher stamps probably
from the 1900 unwatermarked issue (Scott 111).