You use money to travel, but have you ever traveled because of your money? A few years ago a friend and I were talking about his vacation to Chongqing. "We wanted to see the ten Yuan note," he told me. Knowing him to be a joker, I laughed and took out my purse. "Well, I've got one right here," I said. "You didn't have to go so far!" He then told me about his and his wife's ambition to visit all of the sites found on the back of renminbi notes. He was already planning a trip to Guangxi province to catch the picture on the 20 Yuan bill.

Since talking to my friend, I realized I've also started to collect travel experiences related to scenes from my pocketbook. How excited I was when I realized the Guizhou minority women's costumes I'd just photographed were on the 5 Jiao note, and how carefully I saved a ten Yuan note so I could look at it as I sailed through the Three Gorges.

So let's open our wallets and take out some cash for a reason other than spending it. Let's go, like my friend, on a tour of China through its money, starting with the one Yuan note.

 

1) One Yuan—West Lake, Zhejiang
Don't let the low denomination fool you. Just because the one Yuan note isn't worth much, scenic West Lake pulls in thousands of tourists each year. This 15-km circumference lake takes its name from classical-era poems written about its beauty, making it famous even when Marco Polo visited. Present-day visitors can take their picture at the stone pagodas poking out of the water at Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon, just like you see it on the one Yuan note.

How to find it: Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

 

2) Two Yuan-- The End of the World, Hainan
To find the image from the two Yuan note in real-life, grab your swimwear and head far south to the edge of China.  Long before bronzed foreigners and groups of same-hat-wearing tourists descended upon Hainan Island, it was the site of forced vacations for out-of-favour politicians. Exiled diplomats felt that a sunny, white beach at the southernmost tip of the island was the end of the civilized world and they carved their musings in calligraphy on great boulders near the sea. These stony poems have been immortalized on the two-yuan note.

How to find it: Tianya Haijiao Park, Tianya town, Hainan.

 

3) Five Yuan—Mount Tai, Taoist Holy Peak, Shandong
Going back north, the five Yuan note commemorates China's foremost Taoist holy mountain. Considered formed from creator of the world Pangu's head, many embark on a pilgrimage to Tai Shan praying for rebirth or renewal. In the 1980s, the 1,500-meter plus tall mountain was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors to Tai Shan can climb its forested slopes via pathways of more than 7,000 steps or use buses and cable cars to reach the summit. Unfortunately however, tourists won't be able to get the exact view depicted on the note from the mountain itself.

How to find it: South of Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.

4) Ten Yuan—The Three Gorges, Chongqing
On to central China next. The famous Three Gorges of the Yangtze River are emblazoned in blue on the ten Yuan note. Although some people have only heard of them in reference to the Three Gorges Dam downstream, these tawny cliffs carved by the water of one of the world's most important rivers have been attracting river-going travelers since the Song Dynasty.

How to find it: The gorges take up about 120 kilometers between Fengjie, Chongqing and Yichang, Hubei. River trips depart daily from both up- and down-stream.  

 

5) Twenty Yuan—Lijiang River, Guangxi
Another river scene decorates the 20 Yuan note. The distinctive mountain-water vistas of the karst formations near tourist Mecca Yangshuo have inspired painters and poets for centuries. The placid Li River winds along between the knobbly hills like thread between bobbins. Despite the large influx of tourists, fishermen still take their boats out on the mirrored waters and use hook and line or even a live cormorant to get their day's catch. 

How to find it: Xingping Village, Yangshuo, Guangxi province.

 

6) Fifty Yuan—Potala Palace, Tibet
Going still farther west, we find the 50 Yuan note in Tibet. Once the home of lamas and now a museum, the Potala Palace's staircases wind their way up the obverse of the 50 Yuan note. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Potala Palace is a place of pilgrimage for many Buddhists and is the iconic building of Lhasa.

How to find it: Lhasa, Tibet.

 

7) One Hundred Yuan—The Great Hall of the People, Beijing
China's largest denomination note of course features the capital. The Great Hall of the People was finished in 1959 and is home to the National People's Congress. Built to commemorate the first 10 years of the People's Republic of China, within its halls you can do another virtual tour of China, stopping by rooms decorated in signature fashion of Guangdong, Sichuan and so on.

How to find it: Tiananmen Square, Beijing.

8) The Jiao—Minority Groups Get In a few Fen
But what about those other bills? While big cities might tend to use the flower-themed coins (with chrysanthemums on the one RMB, water lilies on the 0.50 RMB, and orchids on the 0.10 RMB) more often than rural areas, at some point everyone will end up with some of these small notes that represent less than one Yuan. China has 55 recognized groups of non-Han ethnicity, and these notes give a nod to some of the minorities:

-The five Jiao, or 0.50 RMB, note features the faces of one Miao and one Zhuang woman in full cultural dress. Miao and Zhuang minority people are generally found in southern China, specifically Guangxi and Guizhou provinces.

- The two Jiao, or 0.02 RMB, note features a woman each from the Bouyei and Korean minorities.  Bouyei people live mostly in Guizhou and Yunnan, while the Korean minority lives near the North Korean border.

- Finally, the one Jiao, or 0.10 RMB note features two men, one from the Gaoshan group and one Manchu. The Gaoshan people are native to Taiwan, while the Manchus were historically living in northeastern China.

So, next time you’re not sure where to travel to next, use your cash as inspiration – it’ll lead you to corners far and wide, high and low.
 

Related links
Zhangjiajie - China's Avatar Mountains through Western Eyes
China's Six Most Beautiful Waterfalls
Escape From the Lonely Planet: 8 Steps to a Unique China Trip

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