The arrival of the new year brought a new museum to the city, which will give local residents the chance to look at rare stamps, and horse-drawn carriage used for mail delivery.

The Shanghai Postal Museum, located at No. 276 Beisuzhou Road, opened on January 1, and is the first postal museum in the country.

Upon entering the museum, visitors will see some simulation carriages or model cars and planes used in postal transportation between 1909 and 1929.

The second floor houses numerous pictures depicting the history of China Post.

China joined the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1914. That same year, the Shanghai Post Bureau began handling international mail.

Dozens of valuable stamps are also on show in the museum.

Numerous stamp collectors waited outside for it to open on Sunday morning.

"I like collecting stamps very much and came to have a look at those rare stamps," said Chen Jiaming, a middle-aged local stamp collector.

(Shanghai Daily January 4, 2006)