It’s one of the first things you think about when you are going to a new country; what currency do they use and what the exchange rate is? So here is a breakdown of the Chinese currency, what it looks like and what it’s worth.
My wallet full of Chinese currency
The official currency of China is the Renminbi (RMB), while the unit of account is the yuán (Symbols: ¥ or 元 Code: CNY). One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo while one jiǎo is divided into 10 fēn. You don’t really have to worry about fēn though as you won’t ever see them. Sounds simple enough but when I first got to China I didn’t here the word yuán from the local store owner but rather kuài which is how the yuán is known colloquially, likewise the jiǎo is referred to colloquially as máo.
So with that all cleared up here are some photos of the various denominations notes and coins that make up the Chinese Renminbi. As well as pictures of each I have also included the equivalent value in US Dollars (US$) and South African Rand (ZAR).* (more…)
Why Rory Alexander is in China 