Front

Back

Front: old and new banknotes

Back: Bank building

Front

Back

Front: Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925), revolutionary leader and President of China 1912-1913

Sun Yat-sen, trained as a physician, is known as the "father of modern China". He led the revolution that eventually overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912. He later co-founded the Kuomintang, the Nationalist Party, where he served as its first leader. In 1924 he adopted the "Three Principles of the People" (nationalism, democracy and social reform). He also established the Whampoa Military Academy with Chiang Kai-Shek as Commandant. He died of cancer in 1925.

Back: Chungshan building

Front

Back

Front: Chiang Kai-Shek (1887-1975), Chinese military and political leader

Chiang was educated in military academies first in china and then in Japan. While in Japan, he was influenced by his compatriots to support the revolutionary movement to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. In 1911 he returned to China to join the revolution as an artillery officer.

Chiang assumed the leadership of the Kuomintang, the Nationalist Party, after the death of Sun Yat-sen in 1925. He commanded the Northern Expedition to unify China against the warlords and emerged victorious in 1928 as the overall leader of the Republic of China. Chiang led China in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). During the Chinese Civil War (1927-1949), Chiang attempted to eradicate the Chinese Communists, but ultimately failed, forcing his government to retreat to Taiwan, where he continued serving as the President of the Republic of China for the remainder of his life.

Back: Presidential Office building building

Front

Back

This note is not in my collection. Scans courtesy of Andrew.

Front

Back

This note is not in my collection. Scans courtesy of Andrew.

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 Taiwan.