China's central bank and the municipal government of Suzhou help JD.com test the digital currency for online shopping in December 2020. Photo: Courtesy of JD.com

Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province will issue 300,000 digital yuan red packets worth 40 million yuan ($6.24 million) in total on Monday, becoming the fifth Chinese city to test the digital currency.

As of Tuesday, the deadline for making applications, over 1.2 million residents in Changsha have signed up for the program. The result will be revealed on Monday, with two types of red packets containing 100 yuan and 200 yuan, respectively, domestic news site Jiemian News reported.

Compared with other cities that have already conducted digital yuan trials, the total value of currency to be distributed in Changsha is the highest.  

Digital yuan will be valid from Monday and last until June 15. It's worth noting that consumers can not only use the currency at offline stores in Changsha, but also at stores that are transformed for accepting digital yuan in other pilot cities across the country.

Previously, Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, Beijing and Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province conducted a combined of seven rounds of digital yuan trials, and issued a total of 150 million-yuan worth of digital yuan. Over 700,000 people received and used the digital yuan.

Moving forward, more cities are expected to join the program. In August 2020, the Ministry of Commerce has stated it aims to carry out trials of the digital yuan in 28 provinces and cities including Beijing, Shanghai, North China's Tianjin, Xi'an, Southwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Global Times