Shanghai Postal Museum - A Letter That Travels Through Time

Stepping through the gates of the Shanghai Postal Museum is like entering the lobby of a post office from bygone eras. The soaring dome, the carved railings, and the old-fashioned mailboxes and mail bicycles hanging on the walls—every detail exudes the vicissitudes of a century of postal history. The display cases are filled with all sorts of stamps and envelopes, from ocean-going mail to handwritten letters from the Republic of China era, each word conveying longing and yearning. Standing before the vintage post office counter, touching the yellowed postmarks, I suddenly thought of the slower pace of life in the past—carriages, horses, and mail were all slow; a lifetime was only enough to love one person. The most delightful surprise was the second-floor skywalk. Gazing out from the railing, the breeze from the Suzhou Creek flowed through the hall, the old buildings on the banks contrasting beautifully with the modern skyscrapers. Before leaving, I mailed a postcard to myself from the museum's post office, allowing this journey of dialogue with time to continue in the form of a slow delivery until the moment of my return home. #PostalMuseum