Chinese money and coins, advice to visitors. Chinese money and coins, advice to visitors Part of the yuan 3 letters

CNY is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. It should be borne in mind that the word "yuan" (translated into Russian - "circle" or "round coin") is used exclusively abroad. The internal name of the currency is renminbi or, as is customary in Latin spelling, Renminbi, which translates as “people's money”. Bank code - CNY. 1 yuan is equal to 10 jiao or 100 fen. Banknote denominations: 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 (rare) and 1 yuan, as well as 5, 2 and 1 jiao. Coins: 1 yuan, 5, 2 and 1 jiao.

Traditionally, on the front side of banknotes there is a portrait of Mao Zedong and flowers. Moreover, a Japanese plum is added to the portrait of the leader for 100 yuan, a chrysanthemum for 50, a lotus for 20, a rose for 10, a narcissus for 5 and an orchid for 1 yuan. The reverse side is decorated with Chinese landscapes. The coins of the last series contain on the front side the name of the bank and the year of issue, on the back on 1 yuan - the inscription RMB (three times; the coin is made of nickel covered with steel), on 5 jiao - the image of a reed (made of copper covered with steel). Coin 1 jiao - smooth, made of aluminum alloy. Other denominations have not been issued since the end of the last century.

Despite the fact that China is considered one of the first countries in the world to use banknotes (coins appeared in the 7th century BC, banknotes in the 8th century AD, and paper was invented there around 100 AD .), money in its modern form has its history there only since 1948. It was then that the People's Bank of China was created, which received the exclusive right to issue. Prior to that, since 1835, a Chinese liang was issued, equal to 10 mao and 100 fins. Small gold bars were used for large payments. In rural areas, smaller coins were in circulation: qian and cache. In addition, throughout China, there was a huge amount of foreign money in circulation.

The first attempt to unify the monetary system was made in 1933, but it was not successful: as before, each province issued its own coins and banknotes. In addition, part of the territory was occupied, and Japanese military yen was in circulation there from 1938 to 1943.

Until 1935, the yuan was pegged to the silver standard, and after - to the gold one. At the same time, as a result of the monetary reform, the previously issued money was replaced by banknotes. Their excessive issue led to hyperinflation: in 1936, 1 US dollar corresponded to 3.36 yuan, and in 1946 - 3,350. The outbreak of the revolution completely brought down the national currency.

On January 1, 1948, the People's Bank of China issued the first "people's money", setting the gold content of the yuan at 0.22217 grams of pure gold. The exchange rate of old banknotes was 3 million for 1 yuan. Moreover, the reform was carried out not at a time, but as the provinces were united by the communists. Finally, local banknotes were replaced by a single currency only by 1952, and in Tibet - by 1959.

In the very first year, the authorities had to devalue the national currency several times: initially, 1 US dollar cost 4 yuan, by the end of 1948 it was already 20. new at the rate of 10,000:1.

Illustration: People's Bank of China

At the same time, it is assumed that sooner or later the Chinese leadership will liberalize the economy and exchange rates. And then the prospect for making a profit due to the growth in the value of the currency may open up.

As for the exchange of cash currency in the PRC, foreign citizens can exchange it for yuan freely in banks and specialized exchange offices. Moreover, if you need to make a reverse exchange - change the remaining yuan for another currency upon departure, then you must save a certificate of exchange.

Many people who come to China cannot understand the Chinese monetary system. They complain that it is complex and confusing. Indeed, apart from yuan (similar to rubles) and fans ("penny") there is more chiao . Chinese money is called 人民币 renminbi. Let's try to put everything in order and tell you how not to end up with a full wallet of heavy little things and what to do with the accumulated paper jiao.

Chinese money is also interesting for numismatists. In circulation there are still old coins made of a very light alloy (possibly aluminum). They differ from modern coins in the pattern, shape, weight and color of the metal. Every year such coins come across less and less. Recently, they have almost disappeared from circulation.

Paper jiao and yuan in a vessel of water. Temple in Beijing

Wallet contents: Chinese yuan, mao, fen

Yuan 元, 圆. Colloquially also often referred to as kuai 块 ("piece"). This is an analogue of our ruble. Yuan is the most widely used currency in China. Yuan comes in paper (5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan) and metal (1 yuan). The largest bill is 100 yuan, the smallest is 1 yuan.

100 yuan banknote

The yuan against the ruble and the dollar is constantly changing, so before the trip it is worth checking it out. Currently, it fluctuates around 10 rubles for 1 yuan, 1 dollar - about 6.65 yuan. This is also useful in order to imagine the cost of a thing bought in China in terms of rubles. After such a comparison, many Chinese goods will not seem so cheap.

In passing, I want to remind you that on Chinese price tags, the cost is indicated for 500 grams, and not per kilogram, as is customary with us. This special weight category is called jin斤 When buying any food (even tea), do not forget to double the cost. Perhaps it is because of this weight unit that many Chinese products on the counter seem very cheap at first.

My advice. There is one win-win option that allows you to significantly reduce the price in the process of trading with a Chinese seller. Of course, only if he knows at least a little Russian or English (if you don't speak Chinese). To convince the merchant that he greatly overestimates the price, it will help to tell him the cost (even if greatly underestimated) for this product in Russia. This argument will give you confidence that the thing should cost less. A more detailed description of ways to reduce the price when buying goods in China can be found in our article.

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Fen分*. The Chinese pronounce its name as "feng". These coins can be compared with our pennies. In everyday life there are "penny" denominations of 1, 2 and 5 fen.

* Fen 分 is a very ambiguous word. Its main translations are “divide”, “crush”, “separate”, “distinguish”. Hence the meaning of something very small, fractional. Fen also means "minute", "point", 1/10 or 1/100 of a part.

5 fen coins

My advice. Choose a wallet that has a closed compartment for small change. From the first day of your stay in China, you will notice how heavy the wallet has become. Sellers willingly throw off metal change, giving change.

chiao, or, in common parlance, mao 毛. This is 0.1 yuan. There are 10 fen in one jiao. Jiao are paper and metal. The size of paper and metal jiao is smaller than yuan. At first, foreigners get confused with this monetary unit, surprised at how quickly their wallet is replenished with pieces of paper and coins with a face value of 1 or 5 jiao.

My advice. Don't accumulate too much chiao. Give them away as you accumulate. Leave some of the paper chiao for donations. Please note that a lot of this money is in transparent donation boxes, which are available in most temples. Yuan is much less. Jiao metal coins are thrown into a pond or fountain (for good luck to return) in those places where it is customary. However, paper money is often thrown there.

Do the Chinese like metal coins?

The Chinese are calm about metal money. Southerners are more willing to take them. So, the machine at one of the subway (metro) stations in Shanghai did not want to accept paper money. I had to exchange them. Northerners prefer paper money. There are fewer problems. Automata here are usually omnivores.

My advice. Do not be shy, feel free to offer a full handful of coins in the store. The seller (or cashier) and the queue (if any) will treat this with understanding. Money is money. If you are not a numismatist, then do not take a heavy bag of unused change with you to your homeland. Better get something useful for it. The main thing is to have enough money 🙂

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Jedong (mao)

Zedong (mao)

Dictator of China (Mao)

Chinese poet ... Dun (mao)

Pilot of the Chinese people (mao)

Seychelles, the only place in the world where golden bananas grow (mao)

Chinese Lenin (Mao)

pictured (mao)

Great helmsman (Chinese) (mao)

The great helmsman, whose name was "appropriated" by the Moscow Architectural Society (MAO)

City in Chad (Mao)

Famous Chinese (Mao)

Name of a Chinese leader in the recent past (mao)

Chinese chief (mao)

China's past leader (Mao)

Father of Nations in China (Mao)

Peacock from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (Mao)

Zedong (mao)

Former leader of China (Mao)

Zedong name (mao)

Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China since 1943. One of the founders of the CPC (Mao)

TENTH YUAN 3 LETTERS (mao)

Ancient Chinese spear with a leaf-shaped or knife-shaped tip; Spanish to work from the chariot or work against the chariot (mao)

Moscow Architectural Society (1867-1932), Russia's first association of architects and civil engineers (MAO)

great helmsman of the Chinese (mao)

tenth of yuan (mao)

chinese dime (mao)

locality (city) in Chad (Mao)

one tenth of a yuan (mao)

Yuan is the monetary unit of the People's Republic of China. The word is used exclusively outside of China; translated as "circle" ("round coin").

In the Celestial Empire, the lexeme “zhenminbi” (Renminbi) appears, which literally should be understood as “people's money”.

The international designation is CNY.

The yuan icon is a Latin letter Y with two cross bars. The original name is Yen sign, the code is U+00A5. There is an incorrect assertion that a letter with one stroke is used for the yuan, and a letter for the yen with two.

All about the currency Chinese yuan: banknotes and coins

1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen.

Feni - about the same as a penny. This word is translated as “one hundredth”, “one tenth”, “divide”, “crush”, “separate”, “distinguish”, “minute”, “point”.

Banknotes:

• 1, 2 (very rare), 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 yuan;
• 1, 2 and 5 chiao.

coins:

• 1 yuan;
• 1 and 5 jiao (also called "mao" colloquially);
• 1, 2 and 5 fans.

What does the yuan look like

Now in China, banknotes of the fifth series, printed after 1999, are considered the main banknotes.

On the front side (obverse) there is a portrait of Mao Zedong and flowers, on the other side there is a landscape.

• 1 yuan - 130 × 63 mm; olive-colored banknote; printed orchid and Xihu Lake;
• 5 yuan - 135 × 63 mm; purple bill; narcissus and Mount Taishan;
• 10 yuan - 140 × 70 mm; blue banknote; rose and 3 rapids of the Yangtze River;
• 20 yuan - 145 × 70 mm; banknote in brown tones; a lotus is printed, on the reverse side - a landscape of the urban district of Guilin in southern China;
• 50 yuan - 150 × 70 mm; green banknote; chrysanthemum and the Potala Palace (the former residence of the Dalai Lama in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China);
• 100 yuan - 155 × 77 mm; red banknote; on the front side is a Japanese plum, on the other side is the People's Convention Center in Beijing.

Below are photos of yuan of other denominations.

On the coins of the new series, the denomination and year of minting (in Arabic numerals) are indicated, as well as the name of the bank. Coins are minted from different materials: the smallest coins of 1, 2 and 5 fen are made of aluminum. 1 yuan - from nickel-plated steel. 1 jiao - nickel-plated steel or aluminum alloy, 5 jiao - brass or brass-plated nickel (depending on the year of minting).

How to distinguish real yuan from a fake

You should run your finger through Mao Zedong's hair: on banknotes of large denominations, they are embossed.

Watermarks on real yuan are clear and have strictly defined borders.

It is worth looking at the denomination of the banknote at an angle, tilting the bill: a blue halo should be visible around the ornament.

You can use a keychain detector and shine it on money: real ones contain special threads that glow in ultraviolet light.

A bit of history

It is believed that money appeared in China (coins - from the 7th century BC, and banknotes - from the 8th century AD, when paper was invented in the Celestial Empire).

Chinese liang and money from other countries were in use. Silver bars were used as currency, the weight of which was measured in lyans. Liang is still used in China as a unit of weight (50 grams).

Since 1935, yuan and liang made of silver have been banned in China, and private ownership of this metal has been abolished; also stopped issuing local currencies.

It began and had to introduce all new banknotes: 500 (1941), 1,000 and 2,000 (1942), 2,500 and 5,000 (1945) and even 10,000 yuan (1947).

The current history of the Chinese yuan started in 1948, when the People's Bank of China was founded as a result of the merger of 3 banks. It was he who acquired the exclusive right to issue yuan. 1 yuan was valued at 0.22217 grams of pure gold.

The first series of "people's money" (12 denominations) had 62 designs. Old banknotes had to give 3,000,000 to get 1 yuan. Unreasonably much new money was issued - hyperinflation happened.

Literally immediately happened, and by the end of 1948, 1 cost 20 yuan (the rate increased 5 times).

The replacement of old-style money was completed only by 1952 (even later in Tibet - by 1959).

1955 was marked by a new reform: old money was exchanged for new money at the rate of 10,000 to 1. A second series of money was issued, which was withdrawn from circulation until 2007.

In 1962, the third series of yuan appeared (it was in use until 2000). From 1987 to 1997, the fourth series of banknotes was introduced. It is still in use, although it is being withdrawn from circulation.

Devaluation was noted in 1994, when the national currency weakened by a third.

The past year was marked by a denomination: on August 11, 2015, the reference rate of the Central Bank was reduced by 1.9% to 6.2298 yuan per US dollar from 6.1162.

Over the past 20 years, China has managed to break into second place in the world (after the United States).

On November 30, 2015, it was decided to make the yuan another reserve currency from October 1, 2016. So far, the US dollar (now dominates; in 2014 it held 63.1% of foreign exchange reserves), the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc are considered to be such.

Yuan exchange rate

Until 1974, there was a clear peg to the pound sterling and the Hong Kong dollar (issued in Hong Kong, 7.5-7.85 units of this currency must be paid for 1 US dollar). After - to the US dollar and the currency basket.

The dynamics of the yuan against the US dollar has been unchanged for more than 10 years: since 1994, the ratio has been 8.28 to 1.