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| Money / Currency |
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The currency in China is officially called 'Ren Min Bi' or "The People's Currency." The official denomination is in Yuan which is made up of 100 fen or 10 jiao. Now that you know this, please realize that no one in China uses these terms. Most people will refer to prices based on kuai and mao which are the measure words for Yuan and jiao respectively. (If you don't know what a measure word is, well that is why you are going to study Chinese...) In any event, it will all make sense to you after a couple days. Below are a couple of basic pointers.
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Exchange Rates: The official exchange rate for US dollars is approximately 8.27RMB to $1USD. For Canadian dollars, the exchange rate is approximately 5.25RMB to $1CND. The exchange rate for the British pound is approximately 11.87RMB to $1GBP. These rates are for travelers' checks, which incidentally trade at a slightly higher rate than cash.
Changing Money: It is possible to change money at the airport on arrival in Beijing, as well as at most bank branches. There is a Bank of China branch located a short walk from our Beijing office and a Industrial and Commercial bank branch on the Beijing Language and Culture University campus that changes both cash and traveler's checks.
ATM's: It is possible to use an international ATM card is some bank machines in China. These machines dispense only local currency ( RMB ) and of course you need a PIN code if you are using a credit card. ATM machines that accept foreign cards will have the Visa, Cirrus, Star, and other logos clearly displayed.
Cash Advances: It is possible to get cash advances off a credit card in some bank branches.
Wiring money: It can be done; but it's slow and not a lot of fun!
Bank Accounts: For students who will be living in China for an extended period of time, it is possible to set up a local Chinese bank account. Many of the larger international banks (i.e. Citibank, HSBC) do have branch offices in China, therefore if you need to do serious banking, you can set up or use an existing account.
Black Market: Yes it does exist. No we don't recommend that you change there. The small difference in price is not worth the possibility of being ripped off. You have been warned!
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