50000 Yuan

The first series of Renminbi, of which this is among the highest denominations, was introduced beginning in December 1948 as Communist forces consolidated control across the mainland. Fifty thousand yuan was a direct consequence of the catastrophic hyperinflation inherited from the Nationalist government's currency collapse — the new People's Bank needed denominations at this level simply to conduct basic commerce at the point of Liberation.

The entire first series was withdrawn and replaced in 1955 when the second series Renminbi was introduced at a conversion rate of 10,000 old yuan to 1 new fen, effectively making this note worth one-fifth of a new yuan. First series notes were not legal tender after May 1955.