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China's Money Comes in Variety of Sizes, Colors

Currency Bears Pictures of Mao on One Side, Scenic Spots on Other

Mar 5, 2009 Cheryl Probst

China's money is known as renminbi or "people's money." It comes in various sizes and colors, with pictures of Mao Zedong on one side, and scenic highlights on the other.

Chinese money is issued by the central bank, the People’s Bank of China. It is officially abbreviated as CNY, but commonly abbreviated as RMB, which is short for renminbi. The yuan is the basic unit; it is referred to as kuai in street slang.

The different sizes and colors of the paper money help travelers in keeping it sorted out.

Mao's Portrait on Paper Money

Over the past few years, the bank has issued new notes in all denominations. The new notes bear the portrait of Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China, on one side. The flip side continues with the tradition of using pictures of scenic spots or famous buildings around China.

The yuan is divided into jiao, called miao in common usage. There are 10 jiao in one yuan. A jiao is further divided into 10 fen. A fen is worthless for all practical matters. It converts into about 1/10th of a U.S. penny. Jiao, fen and one-yuan are both notes and coins.

Scenic Sights Pictured on Money

Here are the denominations of paper money above 1 yuan and the picture shown on the scenic side. This is for notes issued since 1999. Older currencies have well-known officials or minority people on the side now occupied by Mao.

1 yuan: West Lake at Hangzhou
2 yuan: South China Sea
5 yuan: Taishan Mountain in Shandong Province
10 yuan: Three Gorges (A special 10 yuan bill issued in honor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics carries a picture of the Bird’s Nest)
20 yuan: Lijiang River in south China
50 yuan: Potala Palace in Llasa, Tibet
100 yuan: Great Hall of the People in Beijing

The 1-fen note is the tiniest paper money, while the 100-yuan note is the largest. Each denomination of paper money is a different color. For example, the 1-yuan note is green and the 100-yuan note, deep reddish pink.

Tips for Travelers

Travelers who like to be prepared when the plane lands may be able to buy some Chinese money in advance through major U.S. banks. Once in China, banks and hotels all exchange at the same rate. There are a lot of forged bank notes, both U.S. and Chinese, in China, so travelers should not exchange money with people who approach them on the street or outside their hotel.

China-bound travelers should inform their banks before they leave home. Major U.S. banks, such as Bank of America or Citibank, are affiliated with banks in China. Travelers can avoid a $5 transaction fee for ATM withdrawals by using an associated bank, though they will still pay currency conversion fees.

In March 2009 one U.S. dollar was worth approximately 6.8 yuan, according to currency calculators.

The copyright of the article China's Money Comes in Variety of Sizes, Colors in S Asia/China Travel is owned by Cheryl Probst. Permission to republish China's Money Comes in Variety of Sizes, Colors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Some Chinese money