Cash is back in vogue, as people clamber to change money these days, seeking their hands on the most lucky money of all; commemorative Year of the Dragon currency. Yangzhou, in Jiangsu, is but one city where banks are seeing more in-person clients than in a long time.
It is understood that Yangzhou City is to make 320,000 issuances of both Lunar New Year coins and banknotes, with the work being undertaken by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Postal Savings Bank of China.
A redemption limit of 20 units per person applies. Citizens holding a second-generation resident ID card may register in the reservation system and go to the designated bank outlet for redemption.
As the Yangtze Evening News reports, the morning of 9 January saw an ICBC branch in Yangzhou packed full of citizens waiting to make exchanges.
Lu Yong, Deputy General Manager of the Operation Management Department of ICBC Yangzhou, said that on the first day, citizens were most enthusiastic and a total of 30,085 commemorative coins and 33,823 commemorative banknotes were exchanged at six branches in the city.
Lu also pointed out that as this time is the first Lunar New Year commemorative currency issuance China in 24 years, the notes and coins have a high collection value and are therefore very popular among citizens.
The Global Times points out that many people are offering high prices to purchase the auspicious money second-hand. Meanwhile, second-hand trading platforms have already seen prices skyrocket.
Pushing the prices offered is the fact that the dragon is the most auspicious of all the animals in the Chinese zodiac, coupled with this being the first commemorative Lunar New Year currency issued by China’s central bank in over 2 decades.
Amongst the set of really lucky money is a gold coin and silver coin; the former features the Chinese character “fu” (福), meaning good luck and fortune; while the latter bears the same “fu”, together with a lantern, deer and butterfly.
The banknote, meanwhile, features a dragon and children performing a dragon lantern dance. All of the notes and coins in the commemorative set are to remain legal tender in China indefinitely.
