10 Yuan 30th Anniversary of Xiamen Economic District

The Xiamen Special Economic Zone was established in 1980 as one of four original SEZs authorized under Deng Xiaoping's reform program — the others being Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Shantou. Xiamen's designation was partly strategic, given its proximity to Taiwan, making it as much a political gesture toward reunification as an economic experiment. By 2011, the zone had grown into one of China's principal export ports and a significant financial hub.

China's mint has issued anniversary commemoratives for each of the major SEZs at regular intervals, and this 30th-anniversary piece falls into a well-established series pattern. Collector demand tends to track national pride more than scarcity.