The Stunning Sites on Chinese Yuan Banknotes You Can Visit
Money isn’t just something you need to buy whatever you want. If you’re in China, go look at the back of your Chinese Yuan bills and look at the images of different amazing places that you can actually see in real life. Where are these stunning sites?
1 Yuan – West Lake, Hangzhou
What you see at the back side of the one Yuan note is the “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon at West Lake” in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. These “three pools” are the 2-meter high pagodas (Buddhist monuments) floating on the lake, which are lit with candles on the night of the mid-Autumn festival. The light coming from the holes of the pagodas cast reflections on the water’s surface, creating small moons under the bright full moon.
5 Yuan – Mount Tai, Shandong
Mount Tai has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and one of China’s “Five Sacred Taoist Mountains”. The mountain measures 1,532 meters at the Jade Emperor Peak. Every year, devotees take a pilgrimage to the mountain’s temple of Bixia, the goddess of the dawn, childbirth, and destiny.
10 Yuan – Qutang Gorge, Yangtze River
The Qutang Gorge is the shortest gorge among the three gorges that you can witness at the Yangtze River. It could be the shortest but the trip along he 8-kilometer gorge will leave you breathless for its amazing scenery of towering peaks and cliffs.
20 Yuan – Li River, Guangxi
The 24-kilometer Li River is located between the towns of Yangdi and Xingping. The place is a favorite among hikers and mountain bikers who want to explore the Guangxi countryside. The 20 Yuan bill shows the most beautiful section of the river where limestone peaks stand high reflected by the river, completing the stunning landscape.
50 Yuan – Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet
The famous Potala Palace can be seen on the 130-meter high Marpo Ri or Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Tibet. The palace is a 13-story complex made of stone and wood that occupies an area of over 360,000 square meters. It was built in the 7th century by King Songstan Gambo for Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. Buddhists later named it Potala Palace as a sacred place for Buddhism but it was later burned down during the war. The palace was rebuilt in the 17th century by the Fifth Dalai Lama.
100 Yuan – Great Hall of the People, Beijing
The Great Hall of the People can be easily found at the east side of the Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is the place where national conferences and international events are held but it’s also open for locals and tourists. It was built in 1959 and after 10 months, the 336-meter long and 206-meter wide structure was completed with three main sections: a 10,000-seat auditorium in the middle, a banquet hall that can accommodate 5,000 people, and the offices of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.
