If you look closely at a 1 yuan banknote, however, you will see the characters 壹圆 (yī yuán) under the “1” in the middle to the left of Mao’s portrait. Although they look quite different, the characters 壹圆 (yī yuán) are actually the same as 一元 (yī yuán). Today, renminbi is the general name for the Chinese currency, while yuan is the name of a unit of that currency. One way to understand this is to imagine a country that uses gold as its currency.
The frequency of usage of coins varies between different parts of China, with coins typically being more popular in urban areas (with 5-jiǎo and 1-yuán coins used in vending machines), and small notes being more popular in rural areas. Older fēn and large jiǎo coins are uncommonly still seen in circulation, but are still valid in exchange. In 1991, a new coinage was introduced, consisting of an aluminium ¥0.1, brass ¥0.5 and nickel-clad steel ¥1. These were smaller than the previous jiǎo and yuán coins and depicted flowers on the obverse and the national emblem on the reverse.
When telling someone how much something costs, you would be unlikely to say “This car costs 10 gold.” You need some sort of unit, such as ounces. Then you could say, “This car costs 10 ounces of gold.” In this example, gold is the currency, and ounce is the unit. Technically, though, RMB is the name of the Chinese currency (like US Dollar), while CNY is a unit of that currency (like «bucks» or «dollars»). Introduction of the Gold Yuan and Chinese Yuan RenminbiThe Gold Yuan replaced the Fǎbì in 1948 at a rate of 1 Gold Yuan to 3 million Yuan Fǎbì. That same year, the Yuan Renminbi (often called RMB) was introduced as a way to help stabilize the Communist held areas of mainland China.
On notes, coins and documents such as contracts, to make it less easy to alter it is mostly written with the coin’s original name, 圓 / 圆. In international contexts, ‘¥’ or ‘RMB’ (abbr. for renminbi) is often prefixed to the amount (e.g. RMB¥100 or ¥100元). Not only did devaluing the CNY make Chinese goods more affordable and attractive in international markets, but there was also another advantage for China. It became the first emerging market currency included in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) special drawing rights (SDR) basket—a reserve currency used by the IMF. Today, the RMB is one of the top-five most-used currencies, in addition to the U.S. dollar, euro, yen, and British pound.
After the revolution, in addition to the denominations already in circulation, «small money» notes proliferated, with 1, 2 and 5 cent denominations appearing. Transactions between Chinese companies and a foreign entity were generally denominated in US dollars. With Chinese companies unable to hold US dollars and foreign companies unable to hold Chinese yuan, all transactions would go through the People’s Bank of China. Once the sum was paid by the foreign party in dollars, the central bank would pass the settlement in renminbi to the Chinese company at the state-controlled exchange rate. Several series of the renminbi were issued since the 1950s, each of which has its own banknotes and coins. The fifth series is now legal tender, leading the prior ones to be phased out.
This table sets out the first «silver yuan» coins minted by each province. In Standard (Mandarin) Chinese, 圓 / 圆 yuán literally means «round». During the Qing Dynasty and early Republic the yuan was a large, thick round coin made of silver, modelled on the Mexican dollar.
Why China’s currency has two names
Early Currency in ChinaWith a history of over 3000 years, Chinese currency existed in both Ancient and Imperial China. In 1914, the Silver Dollar was established as the official currency of the Republic of China, with copper, fen, and nickel coins being added in the 1930s. During this time silver appreciated in value, and China could no longer retain the silver standard. The new currency allowed the new administration to unify the Chinese economy, which was then divided among several regional currencies.
Both the Qing Dynasty and early Republican government circulated silver yuan coins and banknotes. Today, the traditional character for yuan is also used in the currencies of several Chinese-speaking regions, such as the New Taiwan Dollar, the Hong Kong Dollar, the Singaporean Dollar, and the Macanese Pacata. The first locally minted silver dollar or yuan accepted all over Qing dynasty China (1644–1912) was the silver dragon dollar introduced in 1889.
- If you look closely at a 1 yuan banknote, however, you will see the characters 壹圆 (yī yuán) under the “1” in the middle to the left of Mao’s portrait.
- The program has since expanded to all areas of China and all international counterparties.
- The renminbi yuan has different names when used in ethnic minority regions of China.
- Some only issued silver 1 yuan coins (Hunan, Eyuwan, Northeastern Jiangxi, North Shaanxi and Pingjiang) whilst the West Hunan-Hubei Soviet only issued copper 1 fen coins and the North-West Anhui Soviet issued only copper 50 wen coins.
- As mentioned above, the terms yuan and renminbi are commonly used interchangeably or together in some parts of the world, so it’s no surprise that their use often confuses investors.
Various banknotes denominated in dollars or yuan were also introduced, which were convertible to silver dollars until 1935 when the silver standard was discontinued and the Chinese yuan was made fabi (法币; legal tender fiat currency). The yuan is the name of the unit in which renminbi transactions are denominated, but also refers to the currency generally. Thus, a person might pay for a meal using a 20 yuan banknote, and get some yuan and jiao (a tenth of a yuan) in change (the jiao is further divided into 10 fen). This is similar to the pound sterling, which is the name of the British currency, while the price of a pint of beer in a London pub would be stated just in pounds. In July 1949, the Nationalist Government introduced the silver yuan, which was initially worth 500 million gold yuan.
What is the name of the Chinese currency?
It circulated for a few months on the mainland before the end of the civil war. This silver yuan remained the de jure official currency of the Republic government in Taiwan until 2000. Banknotes in circulation come in one, two, five, 10, 20, 50, and 100 yuan denominations, as well as one, two, and five jiao notes. Coins are also issued in one and five jiao, along https://www.fx770.net/ with one yuan denominations. During the period of the command economy, the value of the RMB was tightly controlled, with one yuan pegged at 2.46 yuan to the U.S. dollar until 1971. As the Chinese economy began opening to the world market, the PBOC allowed the yuan to trade on international markets, although the floating exchange rate was still tightly controlled.
For years, the Chinese Yuan had never been close to being considered an international currency because of the Chinese government’s rigid controls. However, this then began to change as the Chinese government started to promote the international use of the RMB. The word «yuan» is frequently used in Mandarin translations of foreign currencies. The UK produced a trade dollar, and so did the US, as discerning Chinese traders demanded higher-quality silver than the metal used in regular US dollars.
How much cash should I bring to China?
In 1980, brass ¥0.1, ¥0.2, and ¥0.5 and cupro-nickel ¥1 coins were added, although the ¥0.1 and ¥0.2 were only produced until 1981, with the last ¥0.5 and ¥1 issued in 1985. All jiǎo coins depicted similar designs to the fēn coins while the yuán depicted the Great Wall of China. The government also gradually allowed market forces to take the dominant role by introducing an «internal settlement rate» of ¥2.8 to 1 US dollar which was a devaluation of almost 100%.
Alternatively, you could exchange money in your home country before getting on the plane. If you only plan to stay in China for a short time, however, you should be able to withdraw cash at most Chinese ATMs using major credit cards such as Visa or Mastercard. In most cases, you will have to pay a small fee when withdrawing money using international cards.
Their Chinese partners wanted silver, preferably these large European-style silver coins. This is the «piece of eight» (or «real de a ocho») beloved of pirates and their parrots – worth eight reales and known as a peso in Spanish and a dollar in English. Nor can you talk about the number of renminbi – or the number of sterling – to the dollar. The renminbi yuan has different names when used in ethnic minority regions of China. Once you’ve got your renminbi in hand, be sure to take some time to examine it and think about its history, its future and all the different ways there are to refer to it in both English and Chinese. Paying for things in a new currency in a new country can be exciting, but be sure you have a good idea of how much you’re actually paying in your own currency equivalent before you spend.
Central Bank Rates
Banknotes of the yuan suffered from hyperinflation following the Second World War and were replaced in August 1948 by notes denominated in gold yuan, worth 3 million old yuan. There was no link between the gold yuan and gold metal or coins and this yuan also suffered from hyperinflation. The word is usually written with the Chinese character 元, literally meaning «beginning» but used as an abbreviation for 圓.
