China Guide
Money
The mainland Chinese currency is formally called yuan (¥), more colloquially known as renminbi (RMB, literally "the people's money") or kuai. One yuan breaks down into ten jiao, also known as mao. Paper money was invented in China and is still the main form of exchange, available in ¥100, ¥50, ¥20, ¥10, ¥5 and ¥1 notes, with a similar selection of mao. One mao, five mao, and ¥1 coins are increasingly common, though people in rural areas may never have seen them before. China suffers regular outbreaks of counterfeiting – everyone checks their change for watermarks, metal threads, and the feel of the paper.
Hong Kong's currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HK$), divided into one hundred cents.
In Macau they use pataca (usually written MOP$), in turn broken down into 100 avos.