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20 Yuan Along the River During the Qingming Festival
| Issuer | People's Bank of China |
|---|---|
| Year | 1998 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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| Obverse description | Within a rectangular field, a detailed architectural scene depicts a grand gate tower (city gate) of classical Chinese design, flanked by a tall multi-tiered pagoda to the right, set against a backdrop of stylized clouds and lush foliage rendered in fine relief. The national title 中华人民共和国 is inscribed along the upper border in Chinese characters. The year of issue 1998 appears to the left of the gate tower, and the denomination 20元 is positioned in the lower right field. The overall composition references the iconic Northern Song dynasty scroll painting 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' by Zhang Zeduan. |
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| Reverse script | Chinese/Latin |
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| Additional information |
This note-shaped silver issue — rectangular rather than round — was part of a broader Chinese commemorative program in the late 1990s celebrating classical scroll paintings. The subject, Zhang Zeduan's twelfth-century panoramic handscroll depicting Bianjing (modern Kaifeng) during the Song dynasty, is arguably the single most reproduced artwork in Chinese numismatic history, appearing across multiple series and formats spanning decades of People's Bank issues.
The 1998 program coincided with a period of significant expansion in Chinese commemorative coinage aimed squarely at the international collector market following post-Tiananmen diplomatic normalization.