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Legal Chinese Currency April 2010
New for January 2014:
1, 000 RMB banknote issued!

China currently issues two separate sets of Banknotes and coins which are legal tender all over China.

I will call these the 'Beijing' set and the 'Ethnic' set, as I have no idea what they are officially referred to in English. In Guangdong both types of notes are quite common, although high denominations of the ethnic set are a little rare. Any other notes or coins you may come across are not legal tender, although may be of great interest to collectors.

Here are all the Chinese banknotes currently in circulation. For most notes, there are two designs, the old and new. The 20 Yuan note is only available in the new design and the 2 Yuan only in the old. The Jiao notes are only in the old design. On the 8th of July 2008, a limited edition special 10 Yuan note was issued to celebrate the upcoming Beijing Olympics. These were snapped up by collectors and are not really in circulation.

You can find our Currency Converter here
 
Beijing or New Style
Face   Reverse
Image: 100 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 100 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: 50 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 50 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: 20 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 20 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: 10 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 10 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Olympic 10 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Olympic 10 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: 5 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 5 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
2 RMB Note
only available in the
Old or Ethnic design
     
Image: 1 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: 1 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Banknotes smaller than 1 Renminbe
are only available in the
Old or Ethnic design
     
Ethnic or Old Style    
Image: Old 100 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 100 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 50 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 50 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
20 RMB Note
only available in the
New or Beijing design
     
Image: Old 10 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 10 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 5 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 5 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 2 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 2 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 1 Renminbe Banknote Front   Image: Old 1 Renminbe Banknote Reverse
     
Below are the three banknotes worth less than 1 Renminbe
They are physically smaller in size and only available in the Old or Ethnic design
Image: Old 5 Jiao Banknote Front   Image: Old 5 Jiao Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 2 Jiao Banknote Front   Image: Old 2 Jiao Banknote Reverse
     
Image: Old 1 Jiao Banknote Front   Image: Old 1 Jiao Banknote Reverse
     
China also uses coins, although these are not commonly used in most areas of China.
     
Jiao coins (10th RMB):
1 RMB, 5 Jiao, 1 Jiao
- these feel heavier
  Fen coins (100th RMB):
5 Fen, 2 Fen, 1 Fen
- these are very light (Aluminium)
Image: 1 RMB, 5 Jiao and 1 Jiao coins   Image: 5 Fen, 2 Fen, and 1 Fen coins
     
Further Reading

For those seeking a brief explanation for the banknotes and what the pictures represent, please read on:

Currency:
Renminbe: Chinese Currency is called Renminbe (RMB or CNY) means "People's Currency" in Chinese language. It is also commonly called Yuan (From the Cantonese: Yuanmunbi) and is written as ¥ followed by numbers to indicate currency (International). When used to indicate prices on the street it is written 元

Units: Yuan, Jiao (some times called "Mao " ) and Fen. 1 Yuan = 10 Jiao (Mao); 1 Jiao = 10 Fen.

The Renminbe (literally "people's currency") is the legal tender in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. It is issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC, central bank). The official abbreviation is CNY, although also commonly abbreviated as "RMB" or "Yuan".

Chinese paper money usually comes in 1 fen (rare), 2 fen (rare),5 fen (very rare), 1 jiao, 2 jiao, 5 jiao, 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan,10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan and 100 yuan.

One yuan is divided into 10 jiao. One jiao is divided into 10 fen, pennies in English. The largest denomination of the Renminbe is the 100 yuan note. The smallest is the 1 fen coin or note. RMB is issued both in notes and coins. The paper denominations include100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen. The denominations of coins are 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5,2 and 1 fen.

In spoken Chinese, "yuan" is often called as "kwai" and the "jiao" as"mao". Fen-denomination RMB is rarely used, except at supermarkets.

The following are descriptions of major features of the above 1-yuan banknotes. It is easy to tell various denominations of RMB since there are corresponding Arabic numerals printed on every paper note or coin.

Banknotes:
The 1-yuan banknote has two types, the red one debuted in 1996 while the green one in 1999. The obverse of the 1996-type 1-yuan note is a portrait of two women from two minorities, and the reverse is the Great Wall. The obverse of the 1999-type 1-yuan note is a portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, while the reverse is the Xihu Lake in the southeastern Chinese city Hangzhou.

The 2-yuan banknote is in green. Its obverse is also a portrait of two women from another two minorities, and the reverse is the South China Sea.

The 5-yuan banknote also has two types, the brown one designed and issued in 1980 while the purple one in 1999. The obverse of the 1980-type is a portrait of two minority people -- a Tibetan woman and a Muslim man, while the reverse is a scenic picture of the Yangtze River, the country's longest one. The obverse of the 1999-type is a portrait of Mao Zedong and the reverse is Taishan Maintain, a mountain in east China's Shandong province listed by the UNESCO as a world natural and cultural heritage.

The 10-yuan banknote also has two types -- the ordinary one debuted in 1999 while the special note was issued on July 8 by the central bank to mark the Beijing Olympic Games. The obverse of the ordinary one is a portrait of Mao Zedong while its reverse is the drawing of the scenic Three Gorges. The special banknote issued on July 8 has a picture of the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, on its obverse, while its reverse features the famous ancient Greek marble statue of a discus-thrower, Discobolus, portraits of athletes and the Arabic numeral "2008".

The 20-yuan banknote, debuted in 1999, has a portrait of Mao Zedong and its reverse features a drawing of the scenic Lijiang River in South China.

The 50-yuan banknote has two types -- one in yellow and pink debuted in 1990 while the other in green was issued in 1999. The former type has a portrait of an intellectual, a farmer and a worker on its obverse while its reverse features the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River. The 1999-type banknote is currently much more widely circulated. Its obverse is a portrait of Mao Zedong and its reverse is the landmark Potala Palace in Lhasa.

The 100-yuan banknote also has two types -- one in gray blue which debuted in 1990 while the other in red which was first released in 1999. The 1990-type note has a portrait of four former Chinese leaders, namely Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi and ZhuDe, on its obverse while its reverse is the Jinggangshan Mountain in South China. Very few of the 1990-type 100-yuan paper notes are currently circulated in China.

The obverse of the 1999-type 100-yuan notes is a portrait of Mao Zedong while a picture of the Great Hall of the People is printed on the reverse.
This information is as supplied by ourselves, and ably supported by our friends and various internet portals.
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