China was the first country to use paper money. Ancient paper money can be traced back to the Pai-Lu P'i-pi (white deer-skin money) of Han Dynasty (120 BC) and the Fei-Chien (flying money) of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). However, paper money did not have widespread circulation until the Southern Sung Dynasty (1127-1279 AD), and none has survived.
The earliest surviving notes are a few from the Chin Dynasty (1115-1234) and Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368 AD), and they can be found in some museums.
This Yuan Dynasty 2 Kuan (1335-1340) note predates the more well known Ming Dynasty 1 Kuan note by several decades.

The oldest notes regularly appear in the collector markets were issued during the Ming Dynasty, of which the 1 Kuan (1368-1399 AD) shown here is the most common.

China, located in eastern Asia, has one of the world's longest uninterrupted civilizations, dating back more than six millennia. For centuries, China was the world's most advanced civilization, and the cultural center of East Asia, with an impact lasting to the present day.

China is the source of many great inventions including Paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing. China was also the first country to use paper money.

In 1911, the Nationalist Party under Dr. Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Ch'ing Dynasty and established the republic. However, the Chinese Civil War following WWII resulted in two Chinese states in 1949: People's Republic of China on the mainland, and the Republic of China in Taiwan.

For a more detailed country profile, see CIA World Factbook on China.