Money

For most destinations it's usually a good idea to exchange at least some money -- just enough to cover airport incidentals and transportation to your hotel -- before you leave home so you can avoid the less-favorable rates you'll get at airport currency-exchange desks. Mainland China is different. Yuan, also known as RMB (Renminbi, or "People's Money"), are not easily obtainable overseas, and rates are worse when they can be found, although rates at back street money-changers away from Hong Kong's main shopping areas are often better than in mainland China.

There is no legal private money-changing in mainland China, and rates are fixed to be the same at all outlets nationwide on a daily basis. So change at the airport when you arrive, and then at larger branches of the Bank of China, or at desks administered by the bank in your hotel or at major department stores in larger cities. If you find a shop offering to change your money at other than a formal Bank of China exchange counter, they are doing so illegally, and you open yourself to shenanigans with rates and fake bills, which are fairly common. Even the meanest hole-in-the-wall restaurant has an ultraviolet note tester. Do not deal with black-market money-changers.

Hotel exchange desks will only change money for their guests, but they are open very long hours 7 days a week. Bank hours vary from province to province. In some provinces they operate the same hours every day; in others, the exchange counter is open during hours different from those of the rest of the bank and not on weekends; in still others, banks are completely closed on weekends.

In a bid to avert a trade war with the U.S., China allowed a 2% appreciation of the yuan in 2005. It is no longer pegged solely to the U.S. dollar, but rather a basket of currencies, in an arrangement known as a "crawling peg." The U.S. dollar has recently been trading around ¥8.10, the pound sterling at ¥14.90, and the euro at ¥10.05. For this edition, we have taken ¥8 to the U.S. dollar as an approximate conversion, as major appreciation of the yuan seems unlikely. The latest rates can be found at www.xe.com/ucc.

There are notes for ¥100, ¥50, ¥20, ¥10, ¥5, ¥2, and ¥1, which also appears as a coin. The word yuan is rarely spoken, and sums are usually referred to as kuai qian, "pieces of money," usually shortened to just kuai. San kuai is ¥3. Notes carry Arabic numerals as well as numbers in Chinese characters, so there's no fear of confusion. The next unit down, the jiao (¥.10), is spoken of as the mao. There are notes of a smaller size for ¥.50, ¥.20, and ¥.10, as well as coins for these values. The smallest and almost worthless unit is the fen (both written and spoken) or cent and, unbelievably, when you change money you may be given tiny notes or lightweight coins for ¥.05, ¥.02, and ¥.01, but this is the only time you'll see them except in the bowls of beggars or donation boxes in temples. The most useful note is the ¥10 ($1.25), so keep a good stock. Street stalls, convenience stores, and taxis are often not happy with ¥100 ($13) notes.

Keep receipts when you exchange money, and you can reconvert excess ¥RMB into hard currency when you leave China, although sometimes not more than half the total sum for which you can produce receipts, and sometimes these receipts must be not more than 3 months old.

Hong Kong & Macau--In Hong Kong the currency is the Hong Kong dollar (HK$), whose notes are issued by a variety of banks, although all coins look the same. It is pegged to the U.S. dollar at around HK$7.80 to US$1. Keep foreign exchange to a minimum at the airport (use the ATMs at departures level) or at other points of entry. Do not change in hotels or banks, but with money-changers, and choose money-changers away from the main streets for a significantly better rate. Banks have limited weekend hours, but money-changers are open every day.

Macau's official currency is the pataca (MOP$), pegged to the Hong Kong dollar (and thus to the U.S. dollar) at a rate of MOP$103.20 to HK$100 -- about MOP$8 to US$1. Hong Kong dollars are accepted everywhere, including both coins and notes (even on buses), but at par. If you arrive in Macau from Hong Kong for a short stay, there's little point in changing money beforehand. But your change will invariably be in patacas, which are useless in Hong Kong or mainland China.

ATMs

There are many ATMs in China, but with few exceptions as yet, only a selection of Bank of China machines accept foreign cards. Check the back of your ATM card for the logos of the Cirrus (www.mastercard.com), PLUS (www.visa.com), and Aeon (www.americanexpress.com), systems, and then contact the relevant company for a list of working ATM locations in China. Beijing and Shanghai are both fairly well served, and have additional Citibank and Hongkong and Shanghai Bank machines which take just about any card ever invented. But even some provincial capitals and some major tourist destinations often have no machines accepting foreign cards, even if their screens say they do. Nevertheless, it is possible, as long as you plan ahead, to travel in China relying on ATMs, but be sure to replenish your supplies of cash long before they run out, and have a couple of hundred U.S. dollars in cash as a backup. These can be exchanged in almost any branch of any bank. Some machines have a limit of ¥2,500 ($310) per transaction, but often allow a second transaction the same day. In Hong Kong and Macau there are ATMs everywhere which are friendly to foreign cards.

Traveler's Checks

Traveler's checks are only accepted at selected branches of the Bank of China, at foreign exchange desks in hotels, at international gateways, and at some department stores in the largest cities. In the most popular destinations, checks in any hard currency and from any major company are welcome, but elsewhere, currencies of the larger economies are preferred, and hotels may direct all check-holders to the local head office of the Bank of China. U.S. dollars cash, in contrast, may be exchanged at most branches of almost any Chinese bank, so even if you plan to bring checks, having a few U.S. dollars cash (in good condition) for emergencies is a good idea. Checks attract a marginally better exchange rate than cash, but the .75% commission makes the result slightly worse (worse still if you paid commission when buying them). Occasionally, if the signature you write in front of the teller varies from the one you made when you bought the check, it may be rejected. In Hong Kong and Macau, checks are accepted at banks and money-changers in the usual way.

Credit Cards

Although Visa and MasterCard signs abound, credit cards are of limited use in China -- in most cases only the Chinese versions of the cards are accepted. Otherwise, an establishment will accept all of them -- American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, and Visa -- or none at all. Many hotels accept foreign cards, but only the most upmarket restaurants outside hotels do so, as do those souvenir shops where you are already paying well over the odds -- in fact, if a shop accepts foreign credit cards, that's a good reason to look elsewhere.

You can also obtain cash advances on your MasterCard, Visa, Diners Club, or Amex card from major branches of the Bank of China, with a minimum withdrawal of ¥1,200 ($150) and 4% commission, plus whatever your card issuer charges -- a very expensive way to withdraw cash, and for emergencies only. If you do plan to use your card while in China, it's a good idea to call your card issuer and let it know in advance.

All major credit cards are widely accepted in Hong Kong and Macau.

Emergency Cash

American Express also runs an emergency check cashing system, which allows you to use one of your own checks or a counter check (more expensive) to draw money in the currency of your choice from selected banks. This works well in major cities but it can cause confusion in less-visited spots, and the rules on withdrawal limits vary according to the country in which your card was issued. Consult American Express for a list of participating banks before you leave home.

If you're stuck in a province where banks are closed on weekends, you can have money wired from Western Union (tel. 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com) to many post offices and branches of the Agricultural Bank of China across China, including 49 in Beijing alone, and 18 in Hong Kong. You must present valid ID to pick up the cash at the Western Union office. In most countries, you can pick up a money transfer even if you don't have valid identification, as long as you can answer a test question provided by the sender. This should work in Hong Kong but might cause difficulties in mainland China. Let the sender know in advance that you don't have ID.