There’s a big problem over here with counterfeit money.  Every time you purchase something, the clerk or cashier scrutinizes each yuan. She holds it up to the light to see the water mark and other signs of real currency, snicks it to listen to the sound it makes, and turns it over several times.  Finally it is accepted.  Well, I guess they are so used to fake money that they don’t trust American money either.  We have had money rejected several times when buying yuan with U.S. dollars.  Once there was a pinkish stain on the top of a twenty dollar bill; another time there was a small tear.  We had two types of fives (the old style and the new) and we almost had all those rejected.  And they definitely don’t like old bills.

Lessons for future international traveling: (1) only take crisp, clean bills and (2) leave the traveler’s checks at home.  No one knows what they are and won’t even consider cashing them.  Bring an ATM debit card — but make sure it’s one of the major networks. Even then you might have trouble; some only accept local cards.  China is pretty much a cash society.  Only two times in two weeks have we been able to use a credit card.  And when you do exchange your dollars for yuan, you get a great big, fat wad that barely fits in your wallet.  One "ten" is only worth $1.40 and a "100" about $14.  When you’re paying for something big like a deposit on your hotel room (2,000 yuan), you feel like a millionaire peeling off all those notes.  And, yes, even the real ones look like funny money.