100 Yuan Legendary Emperor Yan Di

Yan Di — the Flame Emperor — is one of the two legendary sovereigns credited in Chinese tradition with civilizing humanity, teaching agriculture and herbal medicine alongside the Yellow Emperor Huang Di. The 1991 issue was part of a broader People's Bank series honoring these mythological founding figures, released at a moment when China was actively investing in gold commemoratives as both hard-currency earners and cultural diplomacy tools following the post-Tiananmen international freeze.

Mintages for this series were tightly controlled and largely directed toward overseas collectors and the Hong Kong market.