Hebei Coin Museum

Hebei Coin Museum

Hebei coin museum is located in the former site of the people's Bank of China, 55 Zhonghua North Street, Shijiazhuang city.

architectural composition

The Museum covers an area of 3018 square meters. In the center of the building, there are three storeys of gray tile roofed gatehouses with two storeys on both sides. The plane of the whole building is U-shaped. The design of the backyard is also full of coin culture. On the south side is a small pool shaped like cloth coins, and on the north side are two knife pools shaped like knife coins. "Yan Dao Zhao Bu" symbolizes the long and profound coin culture of the land of Yan Zhao.

In the front yard stands the bronze statues of Dong Biwu and Nan Hanchen. The museum is divided into two parts: the memorial hall of the former site of the people's Bank of China and the Hebei Coin Museum.

Nan Hanchen, the first general manager (president) of the people's Bank of China, and the offices of other deputy managers and four departments were partially restored in the memorial hall. Among them, Nan Hanchen's clothes, books, letters and other precious cultural relics donated by his family were collected. The layout of each room was also restored according to the memory of those in the know.

The museum has opened four exhibition halls including "red regime currency", "RMB development history", "Hebei historical currency" and temporary exhibition hall. The exhibition hall of "red regime currency" collects a large number of people's regime currency issued by various people's regimes before liberation or currency of liberated areas in the base areas; the exhibition hall of "history of RMB development" displays hundreds of multi edition and multi denomination RMB since the first set of RMB; it is worth mentioning that the exhibition hall of "Hebei historical currency" collects the currency of the people's regime or currency of liberated areas in the base areas from the pre Qin period Ancient coins made or circulated. Among them, the golden and silver shells of the Warring States period unearthed in Pingshan, Lingshou, Shijiazhuang are the most precious and become the treasures of the museum.

Development history

On December 1, 1948, two events of special historical significance took place in the financial history of new China: the people's Bank of China announced its establishment in a place called "xiaohuilou" in Shijiazhuang, and began to issue the first set of RMB.

At 10:30 on December 2, 2009, at No. 55, Zhonghua North Street, Shijiazhuang City, the "small gray building", which had experienced brilliant, forgotten and even destroyed, finally regained its brilliance. The opening ceremony of the memorial hall of the former site of the people's Bank of China and the Hebei coin museum was officially held.

The former site of the people's Bank of China has been designated as a municipal and provincial key cultural relics protection unit by Shijiazhuang municipal government and Hebei provincial government, and is actively applying for national key cultural relics protection unit. The museum will be open to the public free of charge, and citizens with ID cards can visit it free of charge.

Twists and turns

The old site was converted into a theater, and the road to restoration was long and arduous

"Xiaohuilou" was built in 1940. It was the first office of the General Administration of construction of North China and Shimen canal engineering office. On November 12, 1947, after the liberation of Shijiazhuang, Shijiazhuang Executive Committee of the Communist Party of China worked here. On December 1, 1948, the people's Bank of China announced its establishment here and began to issue the first set of RMB. In February 1949, the people's Bank of China moved to Beiping. "Xiaohuilou" was handed over to the Garrison for use and management.

Since the mid-1990s, the "small gray building" has been rented out and transformed into opera house, bath center, hotel and other places. The architectural pattern inside and outside the building has also been damaged to a certain extent, so that few people know its glorious history.

During this period, the media, deputies to the National People's Congress, members of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference and all walks of life have never stopped calling for the recovery and rescue of the "small gray building".

With the active attention and participation of all walks of life, Shijiazhuang central sub branch of the people's Bank of china quickened the pace of rescuing and protecting "xiaohuilou". In November 1998 and September 2002, it submitted to the head office of the people's Bank of China the "request for instructions on rescuing and protecting the former site of the people's Bank of China" and "request for instructions on taking further measures to recover the former site of the people's Bank of China", which were approved by the people's Bank of China Bank leaders' attention and approval.

In 2002, the head office of the people's Bank of China decided to take back the former address by means of paid transfer, and instructed the Shijiazhuang central sub branch of the people's Bank of China to handle the matter.

On October 13, 2006, with the active support and coordination of Shijiazhuang cultural relics department, "xiaohuilou" was transferred from Shijiazhuang real estate management office of Beijing Military Region to Shijiazhuang Central Branch of people's Bank of China. In March and may 2009, Shijiazhuang Municipal Bureau of land and resources and real estate administration respectively issued the land use certificate and real estate ownership certificate of the former site of the people's Bank of China to Shijiazhuang central sub branch of the people's Bank of China. At this point, the "small gray building" has finally been the best protection.

Historical status

The people's Bank of China and RMB were born in "xiaohuilou"

In July 1947, under the proposal of Dong Biwu, director of the North China financial and economic office, and with the consent of the central government, the Central Bank of the people's political power was set up, and the unified currency was prepared to be issued in the three liberated areas of North China, Northwest China and East China. Later, with the approval of the central government, it was decided to name it "the people's Bank of China". At the beginning of November 1948, Dong Biwu proposed to establish the people's Bank of China and issue the unified currency in the liberated areas before the liberation of Pingjin. Therefore, he advanced the original decision of establishing the people's Bank of China on January 1, 1949 to December 1, 1948. At the same time, he issued the currency of the people's Bank of China for the first time (later referred to as RMB). Nan Hanchen, the former general manager of North China bank, was the general manager of the people's Bank of China. The name, year and denomination of the first set of RMB were all written by Dong Biwu, who was the chairman of the North China regional government at that time.

The birth of the first set of RMB is undoubtedly a major event in the monetary history and even the economic history of new China. It is the birth of new China's standard currency and the establishment of a country's monetary system.

The establishment of the people's Bank of China and the issuance of the first set of RMB are of epoch-making significance in China's financial and monetary history. It marks the end of the semi feudal and semi colonial monetary system in old China and the establishment of a unified, independent and basically stable socialist monetary system in New China.

Visit information

Opening mode: free visitors must present valid certificates to get tickets free of charge, admission with tickets, one ticket for one card, no more.

Opening hours: 9:00-11:00 am, 14:30-16:30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays

Address: 55 Zhonghua North Street, Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China

Longitude: 114.4779

Latitude: 38.049801

Chinese PinYin : He Bei Qian Bi Bo Wu Guan