The Hong Kong 'China' Overprints British Offices In China 1917 - 1930

Amoy, now known as Xiamen, is a coastal city in southeastern China. The Amoy Treaty Port was one of the five original Treaty Ports that opened in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. Amoy’s primary exports during this period were tea, porcelain, and paper, and its primary imports were sugar, rice, cotton, and opium, and it also was a center for protestant missionaries in China.

Two British post offices were in operation in Amoy; The office at the Bay of Amoy on Kulangsu Island where the British Consulate and foreign community lived, and later a second post office was set up in the commercial area on the mainland. 1 Both post offices closed on 30 November, 1922.

The earliest known cancel from Amoy used with the ‘China’ overprints is from January 2, 1917

Index F was believed to be used at the office at Kulangsu Island.2

1. Frank Drake & David Drake, HKPSJ 13
2. HKSP Newsletter, December, 2018