The French post offices in China were among the post offices maintained by foreign powers in China from the mid-19th century until 1922. The first French Post Office in China opened in 1862. Initially, the French government used ordinary French postage stamps for these offices. These forerunner stamps can be shown to have been sold or used in China only by a postmark. Stamps used at Shanghai prior to 1876, for example, can only be identified by diamond-shaped cancel made of a type referred to (in French) as a “losange à gros chiffres” with the numbers "5104" in the center of the cancel. Operation Unlike the other foreign post offices in China, the French operated two distinct types of post offices in China. Offices of the first type, typically located in French concessions and mostly in northern China, were run directly by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The offices of the second type, also referred to as the “Indochinese Offices” were located in southern China and operated under the direction of the postal administration of the nearby colony of French Indochina. Run by France The Paris-run Post Offices in China and their opening dates are as follows: 1862 Shanghai (spelled as "Shang-haï" in the French postmark of the period) 1889 Tianjin (Tien-tsin) 1898 Hankou (Han-kéou) Zhifu (Tché-fou) 1900 Arsenal Pagoda Beijing (Pékin) Fuzhou (Fou-Tchéou) Ningbo (Ning-po) 1902 Xiamen (Amoy) For the above post offices, the French government issued stamps of the "Peace and Commerce" series overprinted with the word "CHINE" beginning in 1894. Stamp issues of the 20th century initially included overprints applied to some of the stamps issued for use in French Indochina, and continued with stamps printed specifically for use in China. Some earlier 20th century stamps were issued only with face values expressed in French francs, but all later issues were overprinted with the equivalent of the stamp’s Chinese currency face value expressed in both French and Chinese. In addition to ordinary postage stamps, France also issued postal stationery and postage due stamps for use at the Paris-run Chinese post offices. Run by French Indochina The post offices run by French Indochina differed from the other French Post Offices in China in a number of areas. Initially, the general issues of the Paris-run French Offices in China c. 1902-1904 were used, and these can be found with postmarks applied by the Indochinese offices. But shortly thereafter,