Foreign Currency Page 7
Bank Notes from Around the World
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China: This is a newer series of notes
from 1980 showing the cultural minority peoples of China. This first
set has no pictures on the back sides, so the backs are not shown. Click
an image to see the full-sized image. Many thanks to L.
M. Li who wrote to correct and add information to my descriptions!
China. The first 3 are 1, 2, and 5 jiao notes; 1 jiao
(also called mao) is 1/10 of a Yuan. The last is an example
of the old 1960 notes from the pre-Cultural Revolution days, showing a woman
driving a tractor.
The minority peoples shown are:
- 1 jiao:
A Gaoshan man from Taiwan and Fujian on the left;
a Manchu man from Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Hebei provinces
(Manchuria) on the right.
- 2 jiao:
A Bouyei woman from Guizhou Province on the left;
an ethinc Korean woman from Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning
Provinces (Manchuria) on the right;
- 5 jiao:
A Miao (= Hmong) girl from Guizhou, Yunnan,
Hunan, and Sichuan Provinces on the left; a Zhuang girl from
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan on the right.
China, 1 Yuan note, 1980.
Continuing the Cultural Minorities series, this has two women on the
front: A Yao woman on the left, and a Dong woman
on the right. Both minorities occupy Hunan Province and the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Great Wall of China is on the back.
China, 2 Yuan note, 1980.
Two girls on the front: on the left is a Yi girl from
Sichuan and Yunnan; on the right is a Uygur girl from Xijiang.
A famous rock called "Sky and Sea's Edge" is on the back.
China, 5 Yuan note, 1980.
A man and woman with phoenix motif on the front: The man is a Hui,
from Gansu, Henan, Qinghai, Yunan, Hebei, Liaoning, and Shaanxi Provinces.
The woman on the right is Tibetan.
The Yangtze river near the "Three Gorges" is on the back.
China, 10 Yuan note, 1980.
An old and young man with another phoenix motif on the front:
The man on the left is a Mongolian, from Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang;
the man on the right is a "regular downtown China" Han Chinese.
Mt. Everest is on the back.
Watermark: Young boy's face
Here's a web site called Sinobanknote.com
with comprehensive lists and photos of banknotes from China, Taiwan, and
Chinese Hong Kong and Maccau. Even they don't have the "legendary" 50-Yuan and
100-Yuan notes from the 1980 Minorities series! I never saw a bill larger
than 10-Yuan, and when changing money, we usually got great big wads of 5-Yuan
notes only!
China, 10 Yuan note, 1960.
Back to the old 1960 series, young cadres on the front;
Tiananmen Square and the entrance to the Forbidden City on back.
Watermark: Temple of Heaven
China,
Small Change: 1, 2, and 5 Fen notes. 1953.
Travelers call these "trains and boats and planes" (from the song) -- meaning
"very small change" -- although it's really Trucks, not
trains. One Fen is 1/100 of a Yuan, worth about US $0.002!
Use these to pay for parking your bicycle. These are the full-sized
images, and only the fronts are shown. Actual size is less than 2 inches
by 4 inches, or 5 x 10 cm.
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Text copyright © 1997-2008, Randy R. Johnson, all rights reserved.
