2015-12-23 Wed

People's Bank of China has issued new banknotes and coins to commemorate more than 40 years of spaceflight achievements. On December 11, 2015 China's Central Bank has released bills and coins celebrating the country's spaceflight history.

These 100-yuan banknotes and 10-yuan coins feature crewed and robotic spacecraft Shenzhou 9, docking with the Tiangong-1 space lab. These commemorative notes and coins span 45 years of Chinese launches.

The mission was the first to man the space station module and included China's first female taikonaut, Liu Yang.

Depicted alongside Shenzhou 9 on the front of the note is Dongfanghong-1, China's first satellite that was launched in 1970, and Chang'e-1, the country's first lunar orbiter that circled the moon from 2007 to 2009.

The banknote, like the coin, is dated for 2015, and reads on its front "Chinese Spaceflight Commemorative."

The 10-yuan ($1.55) coin features the seal of the People's Republic of China on one side and the Shenzhou docking on the other. Surrounding the spacecraft are other Chinese space vehicles, including a Long March rocket, Chang'e-1, Dongfanghong-1, Tiangong and Yutu, China's lunar rover that landed on the moon in December 2013.

Issued in late November, the commemorative money is legal tender but not intended for circulation.