10 000 Yuan Farmer's Bank of Northwest China

The Farmer's Bank of Northwest China was established in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, the communist-controlled territory centered on Yan'an that served as the base of the Chinese Communist Party during the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent civil war. The bank issued currency independently of both the Nationalist government's Central Bank and the better-known People's Bank, which was only formally established in December 1948 — meaning this 10,000 yuan note was circulating during the final, chaotic months before the communist monetary system was consolidated into the renminbi.

High-denomination notes like this one reflect the hyperinflationary pressures afflicting all Chinese currency by 1948, Nationalist and communist-controlled zones alike.