Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY

The Renminbi yuan is the official currency of China. One yuan is divided into 10 jiao, each of which is further divided into 10 fen. The yuan is one of the world's main reserve currencies, issued by the People's Bank of China.

History of the Chinese Yuan

The currency code for the yuan is CNY. It became the official currency of China in 1948. The current yuan replaced the previous version, and in 1955 a revaluation occurred, making 1 new yuan equal to 10,000 old yuan.

In the early years, the new yuan existed only as paper money. Coins were introduced in 1953 and called fen, made of aluminum, and first issued in 1955. In 1980, another series of coins called jiao was released.

Interesting Facts About the Chinese Yuan

The highest value of the yuan against the US dollar was 1.50 per dollar. However, when China opened its economy in the 1980s, the yuan depreciated, reaching a record low of 8.62 against the US dollar. This rate remained until 1994.

Currently, the fifth series of banknotes is in circulation with denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, and 1 yuan. All banknotes feature a prominent portrait of Mao Zedong. Some fourth-series banknotes can still be found, but most are worn out as they were issued in 1997.