Aug
12
2008
Cost of living in Beijing
The romanised symbol is ¥ while in Chinese it is also written with the character 元. As of August 2008, 100 Chinese Yuan (RMB or CNY) equals to 14.5811 USD, 9.71331 EUR, 15.5370 CAD, 16.3896 AUD, 7.59939 GBP or 1,602.14 JPY.
Many economists believe that Chinese Yuan has become undervalued in the international currency exchange market. Chinese exports is costing too little in international markets, and imports from abroad is costing the Japanese too much. Chinese Yuan is slowly appreciating against the US Dollar and other major currencies of the world during the past two years. Not quite sure if this appreciation is a good thing for ordinary Chinese people overall in short term and long term. But in the market for domestic goods, the purchasing power of Chinese Yuan has been definitely declining during the past two years.
Let’s see the real value of Chinese Yuan in Beijing as of August 2008. (Price may vary at different stores and will definitely change in the future).
- 550ml mineral water: 1 Yuan
- 120g instant noodle: 3.5 Yuan
- 250ml milk: 2.25 Yuan
- 355ml Coca-cola: 2.5 Yuan
- 100g Lays potato chips: 5.1 Yuan
- 56g(40 pieces) chewing gum: 8 Yuan
- 355ml Beijing local Yanjing Beer: 2 Yuan
- 330ml Imported Heineken: 8.5 Yuan
- A BIG MAC Burger: 10.4 Yuan
- One Apple Pie in MacDonald’s: 3.5 Yuan
- Beijing Subway Ticket: 2 Yuan
- Beijing Bus Ticket: 1 Yuan (Without a bus pass)
- Taking Beijing Taxi for 1km: 2 Yuan
- One ticket of the Forbidden City: 60 (Peak) 40 (Shoulder and low)
- 250g oatmeal: 33 Yuan
- 1kg salt: 2 Yuan
- 5kg Corn Oil: 100 Yuan
- 1.6g*20 Lipton teabag: 13 Yuan
- 400g Thousand Island dressing: 10.5 Yuan
- 100g Nestle Instant Coffee: 32 Yuan
- 200g domestic cheese chips: 15.8 Yuan
- 5kg Chinese Rice: 35 Yuan
- 500g imported Pasta: 10.6 Yuan
- 1kg fresh salmon meat: 216 Yuan
- 1kg chicken breat: 23.6 Yuan
- 1kg chicken leg: 25.6 Yuan
- 1kg carrot: 6 Yuan
- 1kg potato: 7.8 Yuan
- 1kg imported banana: 8 Yuan
- 1kg imported kiwi fruit: 43 Yuan
- 20 eggs: 21 Yuan
- 500ml soybean milk: 4.3 Yuan
- 1 Regular Colgate Toothbrush: 7.5 Yuan
- 140g Regular Colgate Toothpaste: 7.5 Yuan
- 400ml Head & Shoulder Shampoo: 37 Yuan
- 145g 10 Pcs Toilet paper: 23.5 Yuan
- 52Pcs Pampers Diaper: 87 Yuan
What can you buy with 100 Chinese Yuan? How much do you need to survive in Beijing for one month?
Jul
27
2008
Credit card is becoming more and more popular among Chinese people, at least in the major cities such as Beijing. But cash still plays a more important role in China than in western counties. Consequently, skills to detect fake banknotes are still quite important. But don’t be scared, it’s not as bad as what you might be thinking now. The 1999 series and 2005 series RMB has many very sophisticated anti-counterfeit features. Just “better to be prepared”.
Here is a simple summary about how to detect the counterfeit RMB:
NO.1 Look at the “Water Mark”.
This is the most popular and efficient way to check if you are holding a fake banknote. When you hold a 100 RMB banknote against the light, a distinct portrait of Chairman Mao will appear on the left blank area. But be careful, some counterfeit notes have a watermark as well. But the fake watermark usually is obscure
NO.2 The “Security Line”
There is a vertical strip going through the middle of the banknote. Look at the drawn lines, you should see the word “100 RMB” was printed on it consecutively.
NO.3 “Touch”
The real RMB is printed by using the technology of intaglio, therefore when you touch it, your finger will feel the slight concave-convex. Counterfeit notes are printed with offset press, which made the fake notes smooth by and large.
Good luck!
Jul
24
2008
The Renminbi ( Chinese Yuan or RMB or CNY) is the unit of currency of the P.R China. One RMB( or Kuai or Yuan) is divided into 10 dimes(Jiao or Mao) or 100 cents (fen).
Since the establish of P.R. China in 1949, RMB has been using as official and legal currency in mainland China. ( HK, Macau, and Taiwan have their own currency in circulation respectively, although RMB gains more and more popularity in these areas.)
Ren Min = People in Chinese
Bi = Money in Chinese
Together RenMinBi literally means People’s money.
The banknotes and coins are issued by the People’s Bank of China (中国人民银行）- the central bank. But actually, you cannot find any branch of the People’s Bank of China. Most likely you will use Bank of China（中国银行）for your banking. Bank of China is one of China’s four state-owned commercial banks. And it is the state-designated specialized foreign exchange bank However, if you will stay in China for a long period of time rather than just a short visit; we recommend the China Merchants Bank(招商银行) which provides better and more innovated service to its customers. China Merchants Bank has branches in more than 30 major cities in China as well as in HKSAR with total business network over 400.
Now let’s take a look at the RMB
RMB 100 YUAN (the 1999 version)
RMB 100 Yuan (the 1987 version, but still in circulation)
RMB 50 YUAN
RMB 20 YUAN
RMB 10 YUAN
RMB 5 YUAN
RMB 1 YUAN
RMB 50, 20 and 10 cents. ( NOT very useful, A bottle of water costs more than 1 YUAN.)
COINS ( Most useful in Beijing subway to purchase tickets)
Hope these information and images above are useful. Later we will talk about the banking service in Beijing and how to detect counterfeit RMB.