You’re standing at a street food stall in Shanghai, smelling the grilled squid, and you see the price tag. You look at your banking app and see one name, then you look at the physical paper bill in your hand and see another. It’s confusing. Honestly, it’s one of the first things travelers and business owners trip over when they deal with the Mainland. So, chinese money is called what exactly?
The short answer is the Renminbi. The other short answer is the Yuan.
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If that sounds like a riddle, don't worry. It’s basically the difference between "British Sterling" and "Pounds." One is the official name of the currency system, and the other is the unit you actually count with when you're buying a bubble tea or a high-speed train ticket.
The Renminbi vs. Yuan Divide
Most people get this wrong because they think the words are interchangeable synonyms. They aren't. Not really. The Renminbi (RMB), which translates literally to "People’s Currency," is the official name of the medium of exchange introduced by the People's Bank of China in 1948. It represents the entire monetary system of the People's Republic of China.
The Yuan, on the other hand, is the unit of account.
Think of it like this. You wouldn't walk into a store in London and ask, "How many sterlings does this cost?" You’d ask how many pounds it is. In China, you don't say something costs "10 Renminbi." You say it costs "10 Yuan." In casual, everyday speech on the mainland, people often ditch both terms and just say kuai, which literally means "piece." It’s the equivalent of saying "ten bucks."
Why the Double Identity Matters
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages everything from Beijing. When you see financial news on Bloomberg or Reuters about the "strengthening RMB," they are talking about the currency as a global economic force. When you are looking at an invoice for a manufacturing order from Shenzhen, you’ll likely see the symbol ¥ or the code CNY.
Wait, CNY? Yeah.
To make things even more complicated for outsiders, there is a distinction between CNY and CNH. If you are trading within mainland China, it’s CNY. If you are trading in the offshore market—usually through Hong Kong—it’s CNH. They are technically the same Renminbi, but they sometimes trade at slightly different exchange rates because the "onshore" version is tightly controlled by the Chinese government, while the "offshore" version dances a bit more freely with global market demands.
Breaking Down the Sub-Units
You aren't just dealing with Yuan. If you get change back, you’re going to see smaller denominations. It’s not just decimals.
The Yuan is divided into Jiao. One Yuan equals ten Jiao. But wait, there's more. One Jiao is further divided into ten Fen.
You’ll rarely see Fen these days. Inflation has basically turned them into relics. Even Jiao are becoming rare in major cities like Beijing or Shenzhen because everyone uses their phones to pay for everything. If you do see them, they often look like tiny, colorful banknotes or small coins.
- 1 Yuan = 10 Jiao
- 1 Jiao = 10 Fen
If you hear someone say mao, they are talking about Jiao. It’s the "dime" of the Chinese world. Just like kuai replaces Yuan in conversation, mao replaces Jiao.
Digital Currency and the Death of Cash
If you visit China today, you might not even need to know what the paper money looks like. It’s wild. You’ll see grandmas at wet markets and even beggars with QR codes. The country has skipped credit cards almost entirely and jumped straight from cash to mobile payments.
Alipay and WeChat Pay are the kings here.
But the Chinese government is taking it a step further with the e-CNY. This is a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). It’s not a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin; it’s a digital version of the physical Renminbi. The PBOC launched it to increase the efficiency of payments and, let’s be real, to have a clearer window into how money moves through the economy.
During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the e-CNY had its big coming-out party. It’s legal tender. It’s fast. And unlike the money in your Venmo account, it’s a direct liability of the central bank.
The Global Power Play
For decades, the US Dollar has been the king of the mountain. But China has been pushing hard for the Renminbi to become a "reserve currency." In 2016, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) added the RMB to its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket. This was a massive symbolic win for Beijing. It put the Renminbi in the same elite club as the Dollar, the Euro, the Yen, and the British Pound.
Why does this matter to you?
Because as more countries settle trade in Renminbi—especially in oil markets or through the "Belt and Road Initiative"—the demand for the currency shifts. It affects everything from the price of the electronics in your pocket to the stability of global interest rates.
Spotting Fake Bills
Counterfeiting used to be a massive headache in China. If you use cash, you’ll notice shopkeepers snapping the bills or rubbing them against a white surface. They are checking for the "hair" on Mao Zedong’s portrait. On a real 100-yuan note (the big red one), Mao’s hair has a distinct texture you can feel with your fingernail.
The most common bill is the 100 Yuan note. It’s red. Then you have the 50 (green), 20 (brown/orange), 10 (blue), 5 (purple), and 1 (greenish-yellow).
If someone hands you a 100-yuan note and it feels like regular printer paper, it’s fake. Real Renminbi has a very specific "crispness" and watermarking that is hard to replicate. But again, since most people use their phones now, the era of the "fake bill scam" is slowly dying out.
Actionable Steps for Dealing with Chinese Currency
If you are planning a trip or starting a business relationship with a Chinese firm, don't just wing it.
First, download Alipay. As of 2024 and 2025, foreign travelers can finally link their international Visa or Mastercard to Alipay. This is a game changer. Before this, you basically had to carry stacks of cash like a 1920s mobster because nobody would take your credit card.
Second, understand the mid-market rate. If you are exchanging money, don't just look at the rate the kiosk at the airport gives you. Use an app like XE or OANDA to see what the "real" Renminbi value is. The gap can be huge.
Third, watch the CNH vs CNY. If you’re doing big business, specify which one you’re talking about in contracts. Most international contracts use CNH because it's easier to move.
Lastly, stop calling it "the Chinese Dollar." It sounds amateur. Use "Yuan" for prices and "Renminbi" for the big-picture stuff. You’ll instantly sound more like an expert and less like a confused tourist.
The transition to a digital-first economy means the answer to chinese money is called what is shifting from physical paper to digital code. Whether it's a red bill with Mao's face or a QR code on a smartphone, the Renminbi is only becoming more central to how the world works. Keep an eye on the exchange rates; the volatility in the coming years is expected to increase as the PBOC balances economic growth with currency stability.