One of the most effective techniques used by this exhibit was the way it structured the series of pages by using arrow keys at the bottom to lead the visitors from one page to another. Everything flowed easily and was divided into easy-to-understand categories. The large categories were commerce, culture, and community, and each category had several pages beneath them. By starting with a focus on the commodity and how it was traded in the commerce section before expanding outwards into the implications it had on the shared culture and community, the exhibit leads the visitor through a narrative of how stamps helped bridge cultures and create a sense of interconnectedness between China and the United States. In the section titled, “Shanghai China - surcharge postal announcement,” a short text explains what a surcharged stamp is and what significance it had in valuing the stamps in Chinese currency. Underneath that text is an image of a block of surcharged stamps, and to the left is a paper that is official communication describing the surcharges. The exhibit flows from one artifact to the next, and balances thoroughly describing the artifacts with letting them speak for themselves.

Another noteworthy part was when the exhibit chose to highlight how the American army communicated to home when stamps were restricted or lessened, such as during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. The exhibit demonstrates how Americans used special postmarked stamps for two months when they couldn’t access other kinds of stamps. Similarly, during the occupation of Shanghai in 1939, no stamps were available to US soldiers and letters had to be shipped back stamp-less. Despite complicated geopolitics and the occasional devaluing of stamps, mail exchange never stopped happening. Visitors may also enjoy the proof of the first stamps created by Americans at the Chinese Bureau for Engraving and Printing which were rejected by the Chinese government for errors and consequently burned. The burned remnants of the surviving stamps serve as a powerful image of how Chinese officials retained sovereignty even when Americans were curating the stamps. The artifact which follows the burned stamps are proofs of the first locally produced Chinese stamps. The commonalities between the first Chinese stamps and the rejected American proofs illustrate the dichotomy between the Chinese government using American tactics but wanting to maintain its sovereignty.