1 Shi Liang - Shandong Province Food Stamp

Chinese provincial food stamps (liangpiao) occupy an odd space in collectibles — they are neither currency nor coupons in the Western sense, but state-issued ration instruments that functioned as a parallel allocation system running alongside cash for nearly four decades. Shandong's Grain Bureau issued stamps at the shi liang level — roughly 50 grams of grain equivalent — to control distribution at the finest denominations of the ration hierarchy.

By 1984 the national rationing apparatus was already creaking under early reform-era pressures. Full abolition came in 1993.