While fewer people now go to post offices to send letters, make remittances, or send parcels in recent years, an increasing number of people have been attracted to various theme post offices that have sprung up across China.

Combining conventional postal services and culturally creative ideas, each of these theme post offices, which were set up by China Post, centers on a specific subject. From decoration to the souvenirs they sell and the items they display, almost everything in these post offices are relevant to their distinctive themes.

While the first theme post office was established in China in the year 2011, the country now has nearly 700 theme post offices with various themes, with more than 400 of which being newly established during the past five years.

A tourist puts a postcard into a mail box at a holy mountains and sacred lakes-themed post office located at the foot of Mount Kangrinboqe, one of the famous holy mountains in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/Xinhua)

Covering most areas of China, these theme post offices can be roughly categorized as emotion-related type like post offices with themes such as love, tourism culture-related variants that are opened near scenic spots, traditional culture-related variants that highlight ancient Chinese culture points, blessing-related variants that feature praying for blessing of visitors, as well as the type that centers on campus culture.

Many of these theme post offices enjoy great popularity and sales. The Panda Post, a theme post office in Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, have seen long-lasting good sales in recent years, thanks to Chengdu’s rich tourism resources and its unique superiority in giant panda resources. Many tourists regard the Panda Post as a must-visit cultural landmark in Chengdu.

Tourists visit a giant panda-themed post office in a famous scenic spot named Kuan Zhai Xiang Zi (broad alley and narrow alley) in Chengdu. (File photo)

The Chinese Imperial Post, a famous theme post office located on a side street named Yandai Xiejie, features ancient Chinese postal elements. Besides handling conventional postal services, it also serves as a museum of China’s postal industry.

Moreover, the post office has rolled out a special “slow delivery service”, according to a clerk of the post office, who explained that people who use this service can decide when the mail shall be sent off, and have it sent to themselves or someone else in the future.

Theme post offices have conformed to market demand and expanded the range of services of post offices, pointed out experts, saying that these special post offices have promoted featured cultures, helped convert people’s interest in the postal industry into economic value, and improved the social influence of the postal sector.