If you are planning your China tour, before you depart for China it is...
Jun 25, 2021Published
4 min readReading time
Plan China TripGuide topic
If you are planning your China tour, before you depart for China it is advisable that you have some basic knowledge on how to recognize Chinese currency and identify fake money as well.
Basically there are five languages on all China's banknotes : Mandarin Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, and Zhuang.
Five languages on all China's banknotes (Photo from Travel in China 旅游中国 FB)
China's legal tender is Renminbi ( Abbreviation: RMB), literally meaning "People's Money", issurred by the People's Bank of China. Short official name: CNY (China Yuan), but the short name RMB is also often used. Its symbol: ￥; Monetary unit: Yuan (元) and Fractional units: Jiao (角) and Fen (分).
1 Yuan = 10 Jiao ( also called "Mao")
1 Jiao = 10 Fen
Remark: Colloquially in Chinese, the Yuan is often called kuai, and the Jiao is often called mao.
Currently China Money in use is China's fifth edition of Chinese currency ( 1999 - 2005) circulating from 1999.
The paper money in is 100 Yuan, 50 Yuan, 20 Yuan, 10 Yuan, 5 Yuan, 1 Yuan, 5 Jiao and 1 Jiao.
The coin in is 1 Yuan, 5 Jiao, 1 Jiao, 5 Fen, 2 Fen and 1 Fen
Face Value: 100 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Red
Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong: Main Color of the Face Side: Red
Reverse Side: Great Hall of the People; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Red
Face Value: 50 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Green
Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong; Main Color of the Face Side: Green
Reverse Side: The Potala Palace Main Color of the Reverse Side: Green
Reverse Side: The Potala Palace; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Green
Face Value: 20 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Brown
Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong; Main Color of the Face Side: Brown
Reverse Side: Li River Guilin Main Color of the Reverse Side: Brown
Reverse Side: Li River Guilin; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Brown
Face Value: 10 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Bluish Black
Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong; Main Color of the Face Side: Bluish Black
Reverse Side: Three Gorges of Yangtze River Main Color of the Reverse Side: Bluish Black
Reverse Side: Three Gorges of Yangtze River; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Bluish Black
Face Value: 5 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Purple
Reverse Side: Mount Taishan Main Color of the Reverse Side: Purple
Reverse Side: Mount Taishan; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Purple
Face Value: 1 Yuan (Kuai) Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong Main Color of the Face Side: Olive Green
Face side: Head Portrait of Figure of Mao Zedong; Main Color of the Face Side: Olive Green
Reverse Side: The West Lake in Hangzhou Main Color of the Reverse Side: Olive Green
Reverse Side: The West Lake in Hangzhou; Main Color of the Reverse Side: Olive Green
Coins of Chinese Currency 1 Yuan, 5 Jiao, 1 Jiao, 5 Fen, 2 Fen and 1 Fen
coins
How to identify fake money
It is possible to receive counterfeit money while traveling China. So it is advisable to know to how to identify the fake money. 1. Check the watermark The fifth edition of Chinese currency has a watermark on the left front side. You can easily recognize it against the light. 2. Check the security line There is a golden security line in the middle of RMB100, RMB50, RMB20, RMB10 and RMB5. 3. Check the color and quality The color of RMB notes is hard to imitate, and counterfeit bills are usually too fuzzy, that is, the images and colors are not so sharp.
