Chinese Money and banking

Money
Chinese Renminbi is made up of both paper money and coins, which is formally called Yuan ( ￥ ), more often known as Kuai . It breaks down into units of ten Mao or Jiao , and one hundred fen . Paper money was invented in China . The bills available are ￥ 100, ￥ 50, ￥ 20, ￥ 10, ￥ 5, ￥ 2 and ￥ 1. Coins are usually use for small change you find coins of 1 kuai, 1Jiao, 2Jiao and 5Jiao. Rarely used anymore, but still there are the “fen” coins. Be aware that at present China is suffering from a rash of counterfeiting. . Fake notes are usually produced with color photocopiers and are easy to tell as the paper feels different. A few years ago you were only likely to see fake ￥ 100 notes, but these days there are even fake ￥ 50 notes in circulation.

Banking
The largest branches of major banks should be able to exchange foreign currency with a passport. For current official rates, the best are the Bank of China,

You can open domestic bank accounts at any national Chinese banks (Bank of China, Construction Bank of China etc.). Foreigners may deposit and withdraw Chinese or foreign currency. You can apply for an ATM card for a small fee. . ATMs are all around town and will allow you to withdraw Yuan from both foreign and local accounts. To open an account, go to the bank and take your passport with you. You will be asked to fill out an application form and make a very small deposit, as low as RMB 1, to open your account. You will be given a bank book and a PIN that you need to enter into a small machine at the teller's window each time you make a withdrawal.

Bank of China, CHONGQING BRANCH
218 ZHONG SHAN YI ROAD,
YU ZHONG DISTRICT,
CHONGQING 400013, CHINA
SWIFT: BKCH CN BJ 59A
TLX: 62172 CQBOC CN
TEL: (86) 023-63889453, 68339280
FAX: (86) 023-63500852
POST CODE: 400013