China (PRC) – Sichuan – Global Postcard Sales

Total: 38 postcards

Jiuzhai Charm Postcards (set of 10)
The original price sticker seals the cardboard cover of this set of 10 cards shut, so we’ve not opened it, but what we see through the front window indicates these are nature scenes from the sprawling Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan. That same sticker says there are 10 cards in the set. Grade: 1

Code: 203071000
Price: $18.00
Jiuzhaigou, Botanical Postcards (Set of 4, probably)
The official name of this set (in Chinese) is: Botanical Postcards. It’s still sealed in the original cello-wrap, with added price and bar code stickers. Apparently representing different botanical species from Jiuzhaigou Valley, and– from what we can see — giving scientific names like Taxus chinensis (a species of yew used to produce medicines for cancer treatment^,including Paclitaxel and Taxifolin. It can also be used in other ways and is protected under Chinese and international law.) We can’t honestly see how many cards are in the set. It looks like four. There is an attribution to China Post. Grade: 1

Code: 203071003
Price: $14.00
Juzhaigou Oak Tree Postcard Set
Please observe carefully: this item is sealed, unopened, in its original cello-wrap. The various stickers on that wrap (in Chinese) identify the name of the set as we show, and say what’s inside is/are made from “special paper, film”, 113mm x 225mm, from Sichuan Jiuzhaigou Zhongsha Tourism Culture Industrial Development Co. We can also see the cards’ reverses show attribution to China Post. BUT what we cannot see without opening the wrap is how many cards are in there. It could be as few as two. It looks like three. But we don’t know. They’re nice, and a good catch, but sorry we can’t be more specific. Grade: 1

Code: 203071004
Price: $12.00
Jiuzhaigou postcards in spring and autumn (Set)
Our scan shows the front and back of the glossy cover for this set. Chinese-language legends on the reverse tell us everything except how many cards are inside, and we don’t know because it remains sealed as originally purchased. There is a note that it was co-produced with China Post. So we can only guess something like 6-8 cards inside. The area in real-life is beautiful. We suspect the postcards are, too. Grade: 1

Code: 203071005
Price: $16.00
Jiuzhaigou Style Accessories Folklore (Set)
The blur over the middle of our scan is a sleeve inside the still-sealed original cello-wrap, not on the card inside. The individual cards (we’re not certain how many, it looks like six) are 6″ square and cut to resemble postage stamps. Co-produced with China Post. Grade: 1

Code: 203071006
Price: $16.00
Chengdu, Waiting for You
To be precise, in Chinese: “I am here, waiting for you, in Chengdu”. Unused card. Grade: 1

Code: 203071007
Price: $6.00
Pandas Time Journey (Set)
Measuring 5-3/8″ x 7-3/4″ in the sealed cardboard cover, this set doesn’t tell us how many cards are inside but judging by a similar set we list later, we would guess as many as 16. Chinese (and some English)-language legends are scattered on both sides of the cover, including a glowing impression of the giant panda’s habitat and reputation, and another poetic if mysterious ode to reunion with the motherland. On the front it says, in English, “Music postcards” but we don’t know why. Don’t expect actual music. The barcode in our scan is on the cello-wrap, not the cover itself. Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 203071008
Price: $24.00
Hello Panda (Set of 30)
Our scan shows the front cover of a sealed boxed set of 30 cards (93 x 143mm), and 30 thumbnail photos on the back would likely be those cards — but we can’t guarantee it because we’ll not disturb the seal. All 30 are pictures of pandas. A warning on the back says the packaging is not waterproof. We knew that. Grade: 1

Code: 203071009
Price: $24.00
Panda Town
An unused card in the spirit of “Where’s Waldo”, but without Waldo. A nice souvenir from Chengdu, Sichuan. Grade: 1

Code: 203071010
Price: $8.00
Panda gets fat
Ask ten people the meaning of the brief Chinese-language caption on this unused card, and you get ten different answers, but our best guess is that pandas get fat by letting people do their own exercise. The well-designed artwork features a play on traditional Sichuan hotpot. It’s a fun card. Grade: 1

Code: 203071011
Price: $6.00
Backward Panda
Unused card, irregular shape, measuring about 5-7/8″ x 6-3/8″. Grade: 1

Code: 203071012
Price: $6.00
Panda Hungry (novelty)
If you only read English, you might not notice anything unusual about this postcard. But Chinese-speakers will see that this is a “disc postcard”, or alternatively a “Limited Edition Fun Turntable Postcard”, subtitled “Panda loves hot pot”… and because the card remains sealed in its original cello-wrap, we can’t prove it, but we think this all means that the dishes contained within the hot pot are on a disc inside: note the small circular slot on the right edge, maybe indicating that an insert can be pulled out. Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 203071013
Price: $12.00
Panda missing tooth (novelty)
In most respects the same type of card as we described in entry 203071013 just before this one. We’re guessing the hotpot contents swirl around, or there’s an insert. Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 203071014
Price: $12.00
Pandas Time Journey (Set of 16)
If you refer back to our entry 203071008, this is similar except that we are able to see inside. This set does have 16 cards, each one bilingually captioned as to what the panda is doing. Our scan shows you the front and back cardboard cover. And no, there is nothing musical attached. This, and that other set, fully represent Sichuan’s dedication to all things panda. Unused. Grade: 1

Code: 203071015
Price: $24.00
Leisure Panda (Set of 6)
A set of six art postcards by He Hongmei, all unused and in a paper envelope (our scan shows that) whose art shows one of the six cards. All have the panda paintings on fan-shaped backgrounds. Grade: 1

Code: 203071016
Price: $8.00
Pandas Face Changing (novelty)
Similar in construction to a few other cards just before this, an unused postcard representing two of Sichuan’s most iconic elements: the operatic Face Changing performance, and — of course — pandas. Note the slot on the lower right edge, suggesting there’s an inset inside that might change the view in the front window where the face would be. Complicated to explain, very nice to own. Grade: 1

Code: 203071017
Price: $14.00
The Charm of Jiuzhaigou Landscape (Set of 12)
Our scan shows two of the 12 high-quality unused cards in this set, the highlights of your own journey through Jiuzhaigou National Park. It really is a spectacular, somewhat remote location even though hordes of people manage to find it. Grade: 1

Code: 203071019
Price: $29.00
Chengdu, Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza
Two unused cards are available, from the 1990s. At the time, it seemed quite luxurious to have a Holiday Inn in Chengdu. Probably still does. Grades: 1

Code: 20307162
Price: $4.00
Szechuan, Shuzheng Valley, Nuorilang Fall
Lots to say about this terrific maximum card. There’s a Chinese caption on the reverse that would be correct, but we got what we know from Google. Next, the stamp and postmark on the front (from 2009) are real. Next, the reverse has four stamps and three postmarks, so basically this card has everything. Grade: 1

Code: 20307205
Price: $16.00
Sichuan, Mianzhu woodblock painting (folio) (Maximum Cards)
This folio (here, you see the outer wrap) contains four unmailed maximum cards that can be described as embossed woodblock, each with an engraving and–along with the engraving on the front–an equivalent stamp with 2007 postmark. See entry 20307225B for an example of one of the cards. These were issued by the China National Philatelic Corporation, and there’s a historical description in Chinese and English on the reverse of the folio cover. Grade: 1

Code: 20307225A
Price: $14.00
Sichuan, Mianzhu woodblock painting (folio) – example (Maximum Cards)
This is an example of one of the four different cards in 20307225A. The price is for all four cards in the folio. Grade: 1

Code: 20307225B
Price: $14.00
Chengdu, Statue of Zhu-ge Liang
Mailed in 2011 with two stamps, full postmark, and multiple chops, fingerprints, the works. Grade: 3

Code: 20307230
Price: $2.00
Panda
Superb and sturdy panda postcard from a perspective not often seen. The card was mailed in 2012 with a really very large stamp, postmark, and red “Par Avion” chop. Grade: 1

Code: 20307374
Price: $3.00
Cuopu Temple
We think we’ve got this right, that Cuopu Temple is remotely in Sichuan Province, though if it turns out to be in Tibet, or is a Tibetan temple in Sichuan, just let us know. The card was made in 2001 and mailed in 2013, with large stamp, partial postmark, and some postal bumping. Grade: 2

Code: 20307570
Price: $3.00
Chongqing, The Restaurant on River
Mailed in 2014 with two stamps and postmark and red bilingual Par Avion chop, this card has a detachable stub (the white part on the left). Not quite sure why one would want to do that, but there it is. Grade: 1

Code: 20307696
Price: $3.00
Sichuan scenery
Mailed in 2015 with stamp, postmark, and a hotel chop maybe indicating it was sent from there. Grade: 2

Code: 20307776
Price: $1.00
ma po dou fu
Unless you read Chinese, or know about Chinese food, you might not quickly know that this unused card celebrates a particularly yummy Szechuan-style bean curd dish, one of our personal favourites. There’s a good English caption on the back. Grade: 1

Code: 20307806
Price: $2.00
“高逸圖” , the painting by 孫位 (Sun Wei) (Folio).
Entry 20307842A shows you the cover and 842B shows one page with one card of this hardcover folio (11-1/4″ x 8-3/8″ x 1/2″) with eight facings, a mix of uncancelled postcards, stamped covers, and stamp sheets. Online sources will tell you more about Sun Wei, whose other name was Sun Yu. He was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, a painter in the reign of Emperor Xizong (874-888) of the Tang dynasty. He followed Emperor Xizong to Sichuan to escape from the turmoil of the war and lived in Chengdu. He excelled at depicting characters, pines and rocks, bamboos in ink, and especially, landscapes. Grade: 1

Code: 20307842A
Price: $58.00
Cheng Du, I am HERE
A sign now prominent in one of Chengdu’s airports says, roughly, “Chengdu is more than pandas”. That is true, but thanks to the Panda Conservation Center, one cannot go anywhere in the city without a panda reminder. Like this card: unused, 4″ x 7-1/8″, and all that gold colour has a shiny foil effect. Grade: 1

Code: 20307987
Price: $4.00
Travel in Chengdu (set of 6)
Based on the six thumbnail photos on the back cover of this unopened set, we assume that’s the correct number of cards. Each is a variation on the humorous panda art you see in our scan, just more elaborate. Grade: 1

Code: 20307989
Price: $9.00
Si Chuan, multiple icons
Actually Sichuan has three prominent icons: pandas, pandas, and more pandas. This is an unused card, cut in an irregular shape, measuring about 4-3/4″ x 7-1/2″ and still in its original sleeve. Grade: 1

Code: 20307991
Price: $4.00
Chengdu Nine-Yue Osmanthus (set)
With apologies, we have no idea what this is, but we will tell you what we know: it (and its companion piece 20307994) is still firmly sealed in cello-wrap, unopened. The gold-leaf title on the front translates as our title shows, making it sound like a flowered tea, but it came from a postcard shop in Chengdu. The reverse attributes this to “Sanhua Acdemy”, for which Google does lead to that bookstore/shop. A poem on the back cover says: “The beauty of Chengdu lies in the details. The flower of Jincheng, beauty in time and space, There are flowers in the history of Chengdu. There are flowers in poetry and there are flowers in time.” And we very much hope there are postcards in this item, but, to repeat, we don’t know! Having said all that, it looks really nice. Grade: 1

Code: 20307993
Price: $14.00
Chengdu July Moon, Lotus (set)
Please refer to our previous entry 20307993. The same comments apply. Special discount if you want both. Grade: 1

Code: 20307994
Price: $14.00
Cheng Du, China Post and mahjong
Unused 5-1/2″ x 7″ card in its original cello-wrap sleeve. The large orange panel just says “Chengdu”. Grade: 1

Code: 20307995
Price: $4.00
Chengdu, Year of the Snake (2025)
This unused card, similar to 20307995, turns out to be a lunar new year greeting, as it is snake-themed. The pandas are holding a banner that says “may you be happy and prosperous”, and we wish that for you, too. Unused, irregular-shape card. Grade: 1

Code: 20307996
Price: $5.00
Jiuzhaigou, Zhen Zhu Tan (Pearl Shoal Waterfall) (set of 8)
Pearl Shoal Waterfall (珍珠滩瀑布) is located in Jiuzhaigou, Aba-Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in northern Sichuan Province. Located at an altitude of 2,433 metres (7,982 ft), the top of the waterfall is 310 metres (1,020 ft) in width. It has a fall of 40 metres (130 ft.). The waterfall exists on one of the tributaries of the Bailong River, and like Nuorilang, its sister falls, is just wonderful to visit if you don’t mind crowds. The eight cards in this set are unusual, called “film postcards” in their Chinese label. They measure 100mm x 200mm and as the label says, the attached stubs to each card are photographic films. This set is unopened, in its original cello-wrap, which itself holds multiple labels and bar codes. This is a highly distinctive set of postcards. Grade: 1

Code: 20307997
Price: $38.00
Sichuan meal
If you have not tried traditional Sichuan hotpot — and you should — this unused card will give you an idea of what might be on offer. Grade: 1

Code: 20307998
Price: $5.00
Hua Hua (set of 6)
This unopened (therefore unused) set of six cards is not ordinary. Hua Hua herself is a celebrity (from Wikipedia: “He Hua (和花; born July 4, 2020), most commonly known as Hua Hua (花花) is a female giant panda residing at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan. She is considered one of China’s ‘celebrity pandas’, with her gaining popularity online due to her distinct appearance and gentle personality,”) and this “Giant Panda Series Flower and Fruit Postcard Set” shows her, well, basically posing. Fully attributed and with the original price sticker on the back cover. Grade: 1

Code: 20307999
Price: $19.00

Total: 38 postcards