5000 Yuan Bank of Central China

The Bank of Central China (華中銀行) was a Communist-controlled regional bank established in 1948 to serve the Liberated Areas of central China during the final phase of the civil war. By 1949, the Nationalist government's currency had collapsed entirely under hyperinflation, and Communist regional banks were issuing high-denomination notes in the hundreds and thousands of yuan as a practical necessity rather than a policy choice — the numbers reflected the monetary wreckage they were inheriting, not their own inflationary mismanagement.

The bank was absorbed into the People's Bank of China structure shortly after the proclamation of the PRC, making the operational lifespan of S3417-series notes extremely brief.