The Chinese yuan is the official currency of the People’s Republic of China. 

It is also sometimes referred to as the renminbi, which means “people’s currency.” 

The yuan is subdivided into 10 subunits, called jiao, and each jiao is further subdivided into 10 fen. The yuan is issued by the People’s Bank of China, the central bank of China.

The yuan was first introduced in 1948, replacing the silver dollar that had been used previously. It did not become the country’s primary currency until several years later. In 1955, a new yuan was introduced at a rate of 1 new yuan = 10,000 old yuan. 

For much of China’s recent history, the yuan was pegged to the U.S. dollar, but in 2005 China began to gradually allow the yuan to appreciate against the dollar.

The value of the yuan has been a controversial topic in recent years, with some accusing China of artificially devaluing the currency to make its exports more competitive. However, China has consistently denied these accusations, saying that it intervenes in the currency market only to prevent sharp swings in the value of the yuan. 

In addition to China, the yuan is also found to be informally used in a number of other countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, North Korea, and Nepal.

In recent years CNY has become more widely used as a reserve currency. In the last few years alone, the amount of Yuan being held in foreign currency reserves has more than doubled.