Unlike addresses written in English, addresses written in Chinese begin with the largest geographic component (usually the province) and end with the smallest. No matter what you want to send or where you want to send it, you’ll need to know how to write addresses (地址, dìzhǐ) in Chinese.

How to Write Addresses in Chinese Address Format Taiwan”) in English, followed by the recipient’s address in Chinese, with the recipient’s address in English written below or to the right. Since your letter will be delivered by a Chinese speaker, your best bet is to write “P.R. Since these postal services process international mail using computers, letters addressed entirely in English can be delivered, but they do sometimes get lost. In Mainland China, the China Post (中国邮政，Zhōngguó yóuzhèng) takes charge of your letters, and in Taiwan they are handled by Chunghwa Post (中華郵政, Zhōnghuá yóuzhèng). That’s because the United States Postal Service only delivers your letter to depots in Mainland China or Taiwan. You may be asking: Should you address the letter in English so that your friendly neighborhood postal worker can read it, or in Chinese for the Chinese-speaking postal worker on the other side of the world?įortunately, as long as you write the destination territory in English, you can write the rest of the recipient’s address in English, Chinese, or both. Sending mail to Mainland China and Taiwan from the US can seem tricky at first. Sending Mail to Mainland China and Taiwan from the US Fortunately, half the difficulty lies in knowing how to address letters in Chinese, and we’re here to walk you through that process. Using the Chinese postal system can seem like a daunting task-even for advanced students of Chinese. (Image: Assorted postcards from the blogger’s travels in Mainland China and Taiwan. Maybe you just can’t say no to a pretty postcard (明信片, míngxìnpiàn), like more than one person here at Cheng & Tsui.

Maybe you need to return something you bought online. Maybe you have a friend studying abroad or a Chinese penpal (笔友, bǐyǒu). While most Chinese people prefer to use email or messaging apps like WeChat to communicate, there are still plenty of reasons you might want to flex your Chinese language skills by sending a letter.

Mail letter address format