The evolution of paper currency from 1949 to 2009

• Source: Global Times
• [18:42 September 27 2009]
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Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, five sets of paper currencies have been issued. Each of them reflects China's history, culture, and society during a specific period of time. Portraits, especially the figures on the face of each piece of paper currency tell us stories about China's past.

First set

 
This set was first issued in 1948 to mark the establishment of the People's Republic of China, and it served the historic function of removing all old paper currencies issued by the former regime once for all. Altogether there were paper currencies of 12 different face values issued in this set. The values of the bills varied greatly. For example, both 1 yuan and 50,000 yuan could be found at that time. As a reflection of economic productivity at that time, agricultural scenes were mostly used in the main designs. Circulation of this set ended in 1955.