500 Yuan Bank of Central China

The Bank of Central China (中州農民銀行 / 中州银行) was a Communist Party regional bank operating in the Central Plains liberated zone. By 1948, the civil war was moving decisively in the PLA's favor, and regional banks like this one were issuing high-denomination notes in response to Nationalist-era hyperinflation that had thoroughly destroyed public confidence in the fa-bi. The 500 Yuan figure reflects that inflationary pressure directly.

Regional Communist currency from this period is frequently misattributed or conflated between issuing banks — the Central Plains zone had several overlapping institutions before the People's Bank of China consolidated them all in late 1948 and 1949. Notes from this bank had a short operational window.