China’s currency is called Renminbi, usually abbreviated RMB or CNY which stands for Chinese yuan. Although the lowest denomination is called fen, it is rarely used because it is worth so little. Ten fen are equal to one jiao, also called mao, which is approximately 1.5 American cents. One, two and five jiao notes are in circulation but, like pennies, not always used. Many business people just round up or down to the nearest jiao. Ten jiao are equal to one yuan. Yuan, or more commonly called kuai, is circulated in notes of one, five, ten, twenty, fifty and one-hundred.

When it Comes to Chinese Currency, Size Matters

Each denomination is a different size with the one being the smallest. Each note in the succession is five centimeters longer than its predecessor with the one-hundred being the largest. There are three different widths. The one and the five are the same and the thinnest. The ten, twenty and fifty are all the same and the one-hundred is the widest.