Click and collect in branch
Get hold of your holiday money quickly. Pick it up from the dedicated travel money counter at your nearest Post Office.
Buy travel money
- Buy Chinese yuan online at Post Office
- Find the best deal by checking the GBP to Chinese yuan exchange rate
- Have your Chinese yuan delivered to your home or pick up in branch
On the slow boat to China? Let's sort your travel money fast
China is a vast, unique and diverse country with its enormous, vibrant cities, expansive mountain ranges, deserts and hidden, rural villages. Buy your Chinese yuan online, in thousands of participating branches, or on a Travel Money Card.
Choose our click and collect service before 3pm for next working day pick-up in your nearest branch. Or, if you order before 3pm, we’ll deliver to your home the next working day (free on orders of £500 or more).
Chinese yuan is one of the currencies you can load onto a prepaid Travel Money Card, helping you avoid carrying large sums of cash around with you.
And if you return to the UK with unspent banknotes, we’ll buy your currency back from you. Travel has been an uncertain pastime recently, so don’t forget to pack your travel insurance for your trip.
Find our best Chinese yuan rates online. The more you buy, the better the rate.
Get your Chinese yuan from us
A few reasons to get your holiday money at Post Office:
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Buy over 60 currencies at great rates and with 0% commission
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Order travel money online or in participating branches
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Get our best rates for Chinese yuan online – and the more you buy, the better the rate
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Collect in branch or choose home delivery
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We can usually deliver your cash the next working day if you order by 3pm
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If your trip is cancelled, we’ll refund all your holiday cash at the rate you bought it within 28 days of purchase. T&Cs apply
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We’ll buy any unspent Chinese yuan banknotes back from you
Home delivery
Want your cash delivered tomorrow? Order by 3pm today for delivery to your home.
Go cashless in China
You can load Chinese yuan onto our handy Travel Money Card, which is accepted anywhere you see the Mastercard® symbol. Plus, top it up and even switch between currencies on our free travel app.
How far will your Chinese yuan go?
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China’s financial diversity is as broad as its culture. It’s possible to see masses of the country on a shoestring, often without having to compromise on quality of accommodation or cook your own food. For those looking for a 5* and beyond experience, then you can pay as much as you like and live in luxury
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Food is inexpensive and generally safe in China, but don’t expect it to resemble what Brits get when they order a Chinese takeaway
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Food markets can be very cost-effective and often provide delectable food. It’s possible to eat well for under 100 yuan (roughly £10) per day
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Alcohol is significantly more expensive in even lower-end bars than it is at shops, but always buy alcohol from reputable or chain retailers
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English is not widely read, spoken or understood in China. Moreover, Mandarin is a tonal language, meaning words that look the same (in English) and pronounced the same can have totally different meanings depending on the tone, pitch or inflection. This can make picking up basic Mandarin phrases very difficult, and learning a few stock phrases is no guarantee that you’ll be understood
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It’s a good idea to have everywhere you want to go written down on paper to show to taxi drivers rather than trying to say the name of a place unless you are sure that your pronunciation is accurate
Some common questions
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The Chinese yuan is the official currency of China, and no other currencies are traded locally. The name of the currency as a whole is renminbi, in the same way sterling is the name for the British currency.
The yuan is subdivided into 10 jiao, and 1 jiao can be divided into 10 fen, however latterly these are so small as to be virtually worthless. One yuan is worth roughly 10p.
Yuan banknotes are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. The coins come in 1, 2 and 5 jiao. However, be careful. Remember that 1 jiao is not the equivalent of 1p as the yuan is divided into 10 jiao rather than 100.
So 1 jiao is 1/10 of a yuan (the same relationship as 10p to a pound). 5 jiao is ½ a yuan.
You will often hear yuan referred to colloquially as ‘kuai’. These are the same thing; something that costs 10 yuan costs 10 kuai (it’s the same as ‘pound’ and ‘quid’ in the UK).
Beware of counterfeit currency if you exchange notes in-country. It’s best to do so from an official bureau de change.
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China is the only country to use Chinese yuan. The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau both use their own currencies (the Hong Kong dollar and Macanese pataca respectively) while legally remaining Chinese jurisdictions.
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Buy your Chinese yuan (also called kuai) from Post Office either online or at your nearest participating branch. You can order online for collection in any of our 11,500 branches or home delivery. Or you can get a Travel Money Card.
Our Travel Money Card is a prepaid Mastercard® allowing you to spend, withdraw cash, make online purchases and pay using contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Chinese yuan is one of 22 currencies you can load your card with to use anywhere you see the Mastercard® Acceptance Mark. It’s easy to manage your card, top up and even switch between currencies using our free travel app.
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The highest value yuan note is 100 yuan (CNY100), roughly equivalent to around £10. This is a low sum for a high-value banknote, especially relative to other currencies, so it is possible that you will end up with a large amount of cash on you. It can be a good idea to distribute your cash among your belongings to avoid having large amounts of money on you at any given time. It can also be helpful to have smaller denominations for little purchases, like taxi rides and food.
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Yuan are divided into 10 jiao, and jiao are divided into 10 fen. Fen coins are rare and virtually worthless, so it is unlikely you’ll ever see the lowest denominations of fen during your stay.
- Read all travel money FAQs
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Post Office Travel Money Card is an electronic money product issued by First Rate Exchange Services Ltd pursuant to license by Mastercard International. First Rate Exchange Services Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with number 4287490 whose registered office is Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9DF, (Financial Services Register No. 900412). Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.