Hongkong Post is a government department of Hong Kong responsible for postal services, though operated as a trading fund. Founded in 1841, it was known as Postal Department or Post Office[2] before the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. It has been a sub-member of the Universal Postal Union since 1877, and is a separate entity from China Post.
History
Merchants traded in Hong Kong on the two sides of Victoria Harbour as early as before the British possession in 1842. They complained about the absence of proper postal services and therefore the Postal Department was established.
The department was founded on 28 August 1841, but the first post office (known as 書信館 at that time), situated near the current site of St. John's Cathedral, opened on 12 November 1841. At first, its right to operation belonged to the Royal Mail, until its transfer to the Postmaster General on 1 May 1860.
On 8 December 1862, the office issued the first set of Hong Kong postal stamps. Before this time, only British troops in Hong Kong could use British stamps, while other local residents did not have access to British stamps.