Yuan Postal Relay Station System

Timeline

1. 1271–1275Territory of the Central Secretariat · ChinaKublai Khan's regime merged Mongol 'yam' with Central Plains relay systems, established bodies such as the Transmission Office to manage them, and set standards for tallies, horses, and provisions, forming a unified imperial postal system.
2. 1276–1280Dadu · North ChinaWith the move of the capital to Dadu and the progress of unification wars, relay roads radiating from Dadu to the various provinces were densely laid out; land relay posts connected with grain transport on the Tonghui River, accelerating the transmission of government orders.
3. c. 1280–1300Provinces of the Yuan dynasty · ChinaHistorical records state that the Yuan dynasty had over a thousand relay stations, divided into land stations, water stations, and transport posts, with relay horses, relay soldiers, and express posts operating in parallel, supporting provincial administration and military dispatch.
4. c. 1300–1350Circuits of Jiangnan · East ChinaCorvée labor and horse requisitions at relay stations increased local burdens; the court repeatedly reduced station households and adjusted paper-money provision standards, reflecting the tension between maintaining imperial operations and exhausting the people's strength.
5. 1368Relay roads of the Central Plains · ChinaAfter the Yuan dynasty's collapse, the relay system disintegrated with the administrative breakdown; when the Ming dynasty rebuilt the postal relay system, it partly inherited Yuan institutions but adjusted scale and organization.