Crossword Genius

One sending letters to China? (3,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pen pal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'one sending letters' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'to china?' is the wordplay.
'to' becomes 'pen' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'china?' becomes 'pal' (china plate is Cockney rhyming slang for mate).
'pen'+'pal'='PEN PAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for pen pal that I've seen before include "Friend who communicates in writing" , "American friend via correspondence" , "A friendly correspondent" , "foreign correspondent" , "Friend you know only through correspondence" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app