Currencies Of China
The history of Chinese currency spans more than 3000 years. Currency of some type has been used in China since the New Stone Age about 3000 to 4500 years ago. Cowry shells are believed to have been the earliest form of currency used in Central China, and were used during the Neolithic period.
Around 210BC, the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang (Chinese: 秦始皇; pinyin: Qín Shǐ Huáng, 260 BC – 210 BC) abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced a uniform copper coin. Paper money was invented in China in the 9th century, but the base unit of currency remained the copper coin. Copper coins were used as the chief denomination of currency in China until the introduction of the yuan in the late 19th century.
Currently, the renminbi (Chinese: 人民币) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is the legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong and Macau. The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau use the Hong Kong dollar and the Macanese pataca, respectively.
Read more about Currencies Of China: Japanese Occupation Money, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word china:
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Aged in wrong, the empires are declining,
And China gathers, soundlessly, like evidence.
What shall I say to the young on such a morning?—
Mind is the one salvation?—also grammar?—
No; my little ones lean not toward revolt.”
—William Dewitt Snodgrass (b. 1926)