This state department website (about 1/4 of the way down) says that it is illegal to import or export Chinese currency to or from China. My sister is going to be traveling to China later this summer. She was going to exchange her US$ before she leaves from JFK, but now she is not sure if she is allowed to do that. Anyone know if she has to wait until arriving in China before exchanging currency?
If the bank doesn’t have it available, she won’t be able to change it anyway. Perhaps, and this is a bit of a WAG on my part, she could get traveler’s checks (probably a better idea to begin with in either currency) issued in yuan.
I have brought in small amounts of RMB on occations (a couple hundred yuan or so) with no problems.
The renminbi is not a convertible currency – you can only exchange RMB for HK dollars, if I recall correctly. I have no idea whether New York banks would even have yuan available, but I’ve never even tried to buy RMB at a US forex.
All in all, I don’t think there’s any real point to bringing Chinese currency into China. ATMs or foreign exchanges are not difficult to find – especially in airports – and you certainly do not want to overbuy RMB and get bitten by the exchange commissions twice. I’d suggest that she take her ATM card, some US cash, and some traveller’s checks if she insists.
Practically speaking, no one at customs would bat an eyelid if you brought in a few thousand dollars worth of Chinese currency. It’s probably even legal. stronger controls on cash leaving the country. I think the limit is RMB40,000 or around USD5,000.
There are ATM machines in the airport (with english or chinese screens). I haven’t paid attention but pretty sure you can also change money at the airport.
Most people do prefer to have $50 or so when they leave the US. The exchange rate given in the US is obscenely poor. Depending on where you go, but a taxi from the airport to one’s hotel in Beijing should not go over $10-15 and under $25 in Shanghai. So, if you do want to change some money just to make sure you get to the hotel (any decent hotel will have an ATM on the premise or nearby, as well as have money changing capability), you don’t need to change a lot.
I see about an 8:1 exchange for yuan to dollars from www.xe.com/ucc. Are you saying that you can get a better rate in China or that you get a lower rate in the US?
I can only speak for Beijing airport, but, yes, you could change money there.
Essentially, all Bank of China branches I’ve been to changed traveler’s checks and provided ATMs. Getting money was never much of a problem.
I’ve always brought some Chinese money back to the States. I have heard you aren’t supposed to, though.
That’s not too bad a rate. Officially it’s about rmb8.28:USD1. To be clear, you get a worse rate changing Chinese money in the US than if you do in China