For many overseas visitors, the Beijing Olympic Games offers a good opportunity not only to watch exciting games, but also to enjoy a shopping spree, as the country is well known for its low-price, good-quality Made-in-China products.

    Yet prior to splashing out in Beijing, it is useful to know some basics about the Chinese currency yuan (or renminbi), how to change your money into yuan, related Chinese foreign exchange policies and so on.

    RENMINBI, YUAN

    The renminbi (literally "people's currency") is the legal tender in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. It is issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC, central bank). The official abbreviation is CNY, although also commonly abbreviated as "RMB".

    Chinese paper money usually comes in 1 fen (rare), 2 fen (rare), 5 fen (very rare), 1 jiao, 2 jiao, 5 jiao, 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan and 100 yuan. One yuan is divided into 10 jiao. One jiao is divided into 10 fen, pennies in English. The largest denomination of the renminbi is the 100 yuan note. The smallest is the 1 fen coin or note.

    RMB is issued both in notes and coins. The paper denominations include 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen. The denominations of coins are 1 yuan; 5, 2 and 1 jiao; and 5, 2 and 1 fen.

    In spoken Chinese, "yuan" is often called as "kuai" and the "jiao" as "mao". Fen-denomination RMB is rarely used, except at supermarkets. The following are descriptions of major features of the above 1-yuan banknotes. It is easy to tell various denominations of RMB since there are corresponding Arabic numerals printed on every paper note or coin.

    The 1-yuan banknote has two types, the red one debuted in 1996 while the green one in 1999. The obverse of the 1996-type 1-yuan note is a portrait of two women from two minorities, and the reverse is the Great Wall. The obverse of the 1999-type 1-yuan note is a portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, while the reverse is the Xihu Lake in the southeastern Chinese city Hangzhou.

    The 2-yuan banknote is in green. Its obverse is also a portrait of two women from another two minorities, and the reverse is the South China Sea.

    The 5-yuan banknote also has two types, the brown one designed and issued in 1980 while the purple one in 1999. The obverse of the 1980-type is a portrait of two minority people -- a Tibetan woman and a Muslim man, while the reverse is a scenic picture of the Yangtze River, the country's longest one. The obverse of the 1999-type is a portrait of Mao Zedong and the reverse is Taishan Maintain, a mountain in east China's Shandong province listed by the UNESCO as a world natural and cultural heritage.

    The 10-yuan banknote also has two types -- the ordinary one debuted in 1999 while the special note was issued on July 8 by the central bank to mark the Beijing Olympic Games. The obverse of the ordinary one is a portrait of Mao Zedong while its reverse is the drawing of the scenic Three Gorges. The special banknote issued on July 8 has a picture of the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, on its obverse, while its reverse features the famous ancient Greek marble statue of a discus-thrower, Discobolus.

    HOW TO DIFFERENTIATE AUTHENTIC RMBs FROM FAKES

    When you are visiting and spending money in Beijing, it is possible, though not very often, that you might encounter counterfeit banknotes. In China, if banknotes were old, tattered or torn and were hard to spend, you could exchange notes for new ones at Chinese banks. But counterfeits will be confiscated by the banks. So it is better for you to know how to tell genuine RMB notes from fake ones. There are four means you could use to tell fake banknotes: look, touch, listen and detect.

    How to look? First, look at the watermark on the left of the notes. When you put the paper note against the light, you will see watermarks which are either a portrait of Mao Zedong or a flower. While the watermark for the 1980-type 5-yuan paper notes is ancient Chinese coins. Secondly, look at the drawn lines (or called security lines). The lines in fake paper notes are often more distinct or misty and hard to find. Thirdly, look at the color of the paper notes. The color of fake paper notes are often more pronounced and often not clear.