Strange, it almost looks like parts of New York City in the same era. Well, except for the rickshaws. Unused card, heavily aged and atmospheric. Grade: 2

Just a little bit lost in translation on this vintage China postcard, but we get the idea.  Unused and the picture is nicely clear. Grade: 1

Heavily aged two-views-for-one card issued by the South Manchuria Railway Co. of Dairen. It’s unused, and because the stock paper is quite rigid, each of the corners is bumped a little bit. If you are into soya beans and railroads, this card should definitely be on your list. Grade: 3  

Another unused Russo-Japanese War card, another battle aftermath. Grade: 2

This card was mailed, has its stamp and full postmark. We’re not sure whether the postmark’s 6.11.20 means it was sent in the 20th year of the Japanese Emporer’s reign, or in 1920, but if you’ve read this far, we know it’s something you will know. There is a full message, and address, in Japanese. Grade: 1  

We’re thinking the Japanese caption reveals some secrets because the western one tells us nothing. Google has no entries for Dokugunno, and if you enter Giho you get something with a totally different direction. (Try it and see!) The card is unused and very heavily aged, but undamaged and unquestionably a curiosity. Grade: 3  

This is not a postcard. It’s an original photo, 3″ x 4-3/8″, of a close-up of a woman’s bound feet. Her face can be seen blurred in the background. It’s been in an album, and on the reverse is a fading round blue “chop” dated either 1911 or the 11th year of the Japanese Emperor’s reign, we’re not sure which. And no, we’re not even certain if this photo was taken in PRC or in Hong Kong.  Ungraded.  

Another card made mysterious to us because we don’t know the languages.  The card itself is very heavily aged, but unused. Grade: 3

This old unused card from Yamadashi Kaigakenkyukai is probably Nanking–we just need to get the captions translated. Grade: 3

It’s a wonderful unused vintage China postcard but it’s also another one that we’re not quite sure what city it is.  Grade: 2

This is a folio of eight unused cards of Harbin’s main street. The cardboard wrap has a wonderful little poem in English and Chinese, commemorating the folio itself. The folio (and therefore the cards) was new in the 1990s but the photos are old pictures as main street used to be–not all of it 100 years ago. Plus, each card has 40 fen postage pre-printed on it. So now we tell you the cards were issued by the Ministry of Information. Grade: 1  

Card was printed in Hong Kong of this famous Chinese scenic location, and mailed in Malaysia in 1991. The Malaysian stamp is there, and the card is aging significantly on the reverse. Grade: 3

In Heilongjiang, this park has five connected lakes. The folio of nine cards, published by the Posts and Telecommunications Administration of Wudalianchi and which explains everything in Chinese and English, is as-new. Grade: 1

One of four unused cards from the 1990s, showing a spectacular annual winter event that tests your ability to be cold.  (If all four cards are still available, have the lot for $8.) Grade: 1

Even in the years since this card was mailed (1996), Guangzhou has changed so much–all for the better, we should add–so this is a great contemporary yet historical artifact. Card has three different stamps, two full postmarks, and a Postal Service bar code on bottom reverse. Grade: 3  

There are ten unused cards and a cardboard wrapper (pictured) to this folio, undated but probably from 1990s. The folio includes several other cards we have listed separately, including the masterpiece from Suzhou that we once used as the graphic on our home page. Grade: 1  

We like to call these “specialty cards” because unless you specialise in power facilities or utilities–and we know lots of you out there do just that–the antique Chinese postcard itself won’t be winning any beauty contests. The artists did a nice trick with fog, though. Unused card with some album indents on the corners. Grade: 2  

Unused card and because it’s mostly white, you can see faint album indent marks on the corners. You might also want a good sense of history to know that this was where “the late General Baron Yoshinori Shirakawa was fatally bombed in 1932.” Grade: 2