Postcrossing Digest 2024
Here is a digest of the postcrossing postcards I’ve sent in 2024. My postcard activities can be found on Collections/Postcards.
2024 Overview
Sending and Receiving Summary
This year I create my Postcrossing account and begin to send and receive postcards with postcrossers all over the world. Before joining Postcrossing, however, I also sent some postcards but limited to my friends and family members while collecting some interesting stamps and postal marks, but it seems that few of them are interested in collecting, or even receiving postcards.
I was in Hong Kong, nearing the end of a family trip. While everyone else was caught up in the rush of shopping, I found myself in a small, tucked-away shop in Kowloon, hunting for the perfect view of the city skyline.
In that time I just graduated from high school, expecting the life in university. In the first card I wrote the weather in Hong Kong and my excitement about the upcoming university life, maybe childish though. After a month the postcard arrived its destination in USA with a return message from the receiver. That’s the beginning of my postcard journey.
I check my sent postcards in 2024 again when waiting for my breakfast. It reminds me of excited experience of 2024, from Guangming Peak in Huangshan to Central Street in Hong Kong, from beautiful natural sceneries in Zhangjiajie to modern urban landscapes in Shenzhen, and from trips with high school classmates in Yancheng to cozy afternoons alone in a lakeside café in Shanghai. Each postcard carries a piece of my journey, a snapshot of a moment in time that I wanted to share with someone across the world.
2024, But in Numbers
This year I sent 16 postcards to 12 countries and received 20 from 8 through Postcrossing. Postcards from Germany are the majority, accounting for 60% of all received postcards, followed by Poland and USA. Germans are really postcard enthusiasts! However, most of my sent postcards are to Russia accounting for 25% followed by those to UK.
Afternoons, Postcards, and Lotus Flowers
Receiving postcards is an enjoyable thing. Near my university’s postal office sits a Luckin Coffee by the edge of a lake. This past summer, my favorite afternoons were spent there: a latte in one hand, butter cookies on the table, and a fresh stack of postcards to read.
Watching the lotus flowers on the water while reading a stranger’s greeting from halfway across the globe makes the world feel remarkably small and intimate. Even a simple greeting acts as a bridge between lives that would otherwise never touch.
Search for Sincerity
Of course there are some disappointments. Losing postcards is not included, however, since postal services are usually not reliable in most countries and I usually treat missing cards as a favour of fate. What is harder to swallow is a lack of effort. I’ve received cards with nothing but a scrawled “Hello,” or worse, long paragraphs that were clearly printed by a computer or generated by AI. To me, these feel hollow.
I do not expect receiving a masterpiece or a novel - not everyone can be Shakespeare. I do not care the length of the message, the neatness of handwriting or the artistic design - although I usually write long messages and choose postcards I appreciate. It would make my day if I see a long heartfelt letter, a beautiful drawing or a well-designed card, but a short and simple greeting on a simple white card is also fine. What I really appreciate in postcard exchange is the emotional communication but not the material form. A postcard is just a medium, but the feelings behind it are what matters.
One year in, I’ve realized that I’m not just collecting paper and stamps—I’m collecting moments of sincerity.
2024 Postcrossing Postcard Gallery
Thank you for your patience to read so far. Below are some postcards I’ve received in 2024 that I really appreciate. They are arranged in reverse chronological order.
PL-2035334
Received from Kaczy_poz (Poland) on 2024-12-31, which is 8,205 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
CZ-2168793
Received from Blanka18R (Czech Republic) on 2024-12-30, which is 8,488 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14867728
Received from Hippy-Goldschmitt (Germany) on 2024-12-30, which is 8,824 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14934308
Received from kat_9 (Germany) on 2024-12-30, which is 8,576 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

US-10965271
Received from KevMorris (USA) on 2024-12-30, which is 9,943 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

FI-4720367
Received from ka_stro (Finland) on 2024-12-13, which is 7,395 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

TW-3771034
Received from paohua (Taiwan Province of China) on 2024-12-13, which is 674 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14852400
Received from unknown (Germany) on 2024-12-06, which is 8,879 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-14848653
Received from rotbaeckchen (Germany) on 2024-12-06, which is 8,881 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14819985
Received from heavenly_greenstuff (Germany) on 2024-12-05, which is 8,852 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-14785567
Received from Guapa82 (Germany) on 2024-12-01, which is 8,877 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14785563
Received from Tiguck (Germany) on 2024-12-01, which is 8,837 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14785561
Received from Nianjo49 (Germany) on 2024-11-27, which is 8,901 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
DE-14785573
Received from mirijaem (Germany) on 2024-11-27, which is 9,014 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
RU-10307601
Received from dariascards (Russia) on 2024-11-27, which is 7,110 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14606880
Received from Eppps (Germany) on 2024-11-24, which is 8,842 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14785569
Received from Karlitochen (Germany) on 2024-11-24, which is 8,471 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

DE-14785566
Received from Babri (Germany) on 2024-11-19, which is 8,496 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

SK-338475
Received from Jakubkod (Slovakia) on 2024-11-18, which is 8,436 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.

US-10730589
Received from imagine16 (USA) on 2024-10-31, which is 10,791 kilometers away. Check this card on Postcrossing.
