5 Shi Jin - Food Stamp Nanyang City, Henan

Chinese local grain rations (liangpiao) operated entirely outside the monetary system — they entitled the bearer to a fixed quantity of grain at state-controlled prices and were non-transferable in theory, though a thriving secondary market existed in practice. The "shi jin" unit (市斤, the Chinese market catty, equivalent to 500 grams) was the standard measure used across provincial ration systems, and a 5-shi-jin coupon represented roughly 2.5 kilograms of grain — a meaningful weekly allocation for a single adult under the ration regime.

Henan Province's ration infrastructure was among the most heavily administered in China, given the province's outsized role in state grain procurement. These coupons became void and were officially withdrawn following the dismantling of the urban grain rationing system in the early 1990s.