:: CHINA::

The first mailbox of China could be dated back to the Qing Dynasty (AD 1897). That was 19 years after the birth of the first stamp in China (AD 1878). In the days when there were no mailboxes, the mails were stored in wooden boxes. The first mailbox ever made in China was darkish green in colour and was imprinted on its top a twin golden dragons holding dragon balls. Its cylindrical stand was of unique style. Once when visiting Beijing, the writer had the honor to be arranged a guided tour by the researcher of the China Postal History Center and hence had an opportunity to have a look at the picture of the above described mailbox. He was told that the mailbox had never been used officially.
It is commonly known that different countries normally have set different color schemes for their mailboxes. The mailboxes in Great Britain are red in color. Those in the western European countries like France, Germany and Spain the mailboxes are in yellow color. Those in the East Europe are in light blue while those in Japan are orange. Singapore has white mailboxes. In the US, the mailboxes are darkish blues and its express mailboxes are white and blue.

Most mailboxes in China are painted green. This is also true of the mailboxes in its neighboring areas such as Taiwan and Hong Kong (after the handover).
Green is the major color scheme of the mailboxes in China. However, you can see some mailboxes being painted pink in Beijing. They can only be found standing right beside the postal offices. Pink mailboxes are rare in other parts of the world. In Beijing, there is a story to go with those pink mailboxes. It is known to the local people that the pink mailboxes are specially for ’love letters’. Pink represents warmth and harmony. Letters of love and friendship are therefore posted in those pink mailboxes.

:: ENGLAND ::

England is the first country where stamps were printed and used. The same went to the use of mailboxes. Research show that the first mailbox was dated back to 8th February in 1953, being placed in the Union Street. It is believed to the first mailbox in the world.
All mailboxes in England bear the royal badges. Whenever there was a change of regime, so was the badge. No wonder, mailboxes bearing royal badge of different regimes on the sides can be found easily everywhere in the streets of England. But there is an exception. Mailboxes bearing the Victorian badges can rarely be found in London because most of them had already been destroyed when German airforce bombarded London during the World War II. Today most of the mailboxes in England are inscribed with the Royal Badge of the present Queen Elizabeth 2nd.

In order to have a look at the mailboxes made in Victoria’s time, I went to Buxton and it had taken 4 -hour ride by train from London. Next to the Opera House in Water Street in Buxton, there stands a mailbox which is hexagon in shape. It is believed to be one of the two existing Victorian boxes. They have started their service since 1867. I was deeply impressed by its terrific design. It symbolizes the golden era of arts in the time of King George. The designer is always praised as the pioneer in design of mailboxes.

:: Singapore ::

Compared with the post boxes used in other countries, Singapore’s have two distinct features. First, all post boxes are painted white from top to bottom which is rarely found in other parts of the world. The post boxes in New Zealand and the express mailboxes in the US are painted white on one side only. Second, the four sides of the post boxes in Singapore inscribed the word ’Singapore’ in the center. There are not many post boxes in other places which bear the name of the nation on them. Even there are, the words are normally inscribed on one side only.
The first generation of post boxes in Singapore were typical of the British colonial style. They were cylindrically-shaped bearing the royal badge of Queen Elizabeth 2nd on one side of the box. Actually all 10 British colonies, such as HK, Malaysia, Cayman Island and Gibraltar, had made post boxes of almost the same style.

Until 1971, when Singapore regained her independence and the Postal Services Department became autonomous, all red colonial post boxes were replaced by yellowish rectangular ones, which were the second generation.
Eleven years later in 1982, the post boxes were given a new facelift. They were then painted either orange, white or grey to mark the merge of the Postal Services Department and the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS). These were the 3rd generation.

In 1992, these same post boxes were re-painted blue and white when Singapore Post became a subsidiary of Singapore Telecom Limited and a public listed company in the Stock Exchange of Singapore. These are the 4th generation. Now we can see them standing in the hustling and bustling streets of Singapore.

Those post boxes described above can now be seen at the Singapore Philatelist Museum. More than that, you can bring them home. The Museum is now presenting the series of the post boxes to tourists and overseas collectors. It is hoped that the new unique postal culture of Singapore can be spread to the four corners of the world.

::  South Africa ::

South Africa is a country with the most varied designs of mailboxes. According to the research of the writer, she has mailboxes of 20 different designs. Before the Suez Canal was built, passage to Asia from Europe went around the Cape of good Hope. At that time, the Cape of Good Hope was considered by the travellers as a very distant place. Sailors serving this adventurous shipping route always wished to send letters to their family whenever they came to the Cape of Good Hope. However, it was difficult to meet a returning fleet. They therefore made an arrangement of fixing a meeting place next to a big rock where they could hand their letters to their counterparts who would be returning to their hometowns.
Then, some British people brought a mailbox from England and made it stood at the Cape of Good Hope. Meanwhile, among the powerful countries at sea such as Netherlands, France ad Portugal also began to place the mailboxes of their countries on the same spot to help send the letters of their people back home. Since then, more mailboxes made in England were placed as far as in India and Malaysia. Netherlands mailboxes were placed in Indonesia. Spanish mailboxes were placed in the Philippines. French mailboxes could be found in Vietnam and Portuguese ones in Macau. These South Asia countries eventually became the colonies of the European countries. The World War II marked the end of the era of colonies. What are left in those colonies are the mailboxes.

:: Macau  ::

If you will ask me to pick mailboxes with the best design in the world, I will certainly choose those in Macau. The design is oriental in style. On top of each mailbox, there is a shade which looks like an umbrella. The umbrella-shaped top can help avoid raindrops from getting into the inside. Places with record of frequent and heavy rainfall often adopt this design. For example, mailboxes in Indonesia look similar to those of Macau. The mailboxes in Macau are also supported by cylindrical steel and their bodies are made of fabric. Now the new mailboxes have replaced the old mailboxes which were of Portugal style.

Very often, these mailboxes are also used as advertising boards on the three sides. The local postal office also places posters on them to promote their business and new products. From the point of utility of resources, Macau government has set a good example, In many other countries, putting up advertisement on the sides of mailboxes are strongly prohibited.
If you are interested in placing an order of the mailboxes, please contact Macau Posts and Telecommunications at Largo do Senado, Macau.