How China's renminbi banknote has changed over the decades

As it emerges that the People’s Bank of China is planning to issue a new 100 yuan banknote with improved anti-counterfeiting features in November, the first upgrade of the bill since 2005, we look at the many forms the note has taken over the years.

FIRST SET

• Issued on 1 December, 1948
• 12 denominations (1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan, 200 yuan, 500 yuan, 1,000 yuan, 5,000 yuan, 10,000 yuan, 50,000 yuan)
• Currency issued on the day the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, was established
• The paper bills were easily damaged, and the large denominations made it hard for people to handle
• There was little to no anti-counterfeit technology

SECOND SET

• Issued on 1 March, 1955
• 11 denominations (1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 yuan, 20 yuan, 3 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan)
• Coins issued for the first time (1-, 2- and 5-cent coins)
• Better security printing techniques developed, including printing watermarks on the bills, making them harder to forge