This is an interesting Bank of Chi Nan 10 Million Yuan emergency circulating cashiers (bearer) check issued in the Communist controlled area of Chi Nan prior to the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949.

The note was valid for only one year after issuance. Apparently very rare, I haven't come across another one. It is not listed in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money.

Graded Very Good Circulated condition. It has a 13mm (1/2 inch) horizontal tear on the left edge, and some light dirt smears.

Front Bottom: Printed on the 32nd Year of the Republic of China (1943);
Front Right: Issued at the beginning of January on the 34th Year of the Republic of China (1945);
Front Center: Expired at the end of December on the 34th Year of the Republic of China (1945).

Back Left: Spaces for dates, signatures and chops;
Back Right: Usage Instruction-
1. For ease of commercial transactions, the bearer check is legal tender within Chi Nan area.
2. The bearer check is redeemable at all branches of the bank within Chi Nan area.
3. To prevent counterfeiting, the check must be dated and signed by the transferee and a guarantor in the spaces provided.
4. Void if damaged that its authenticity or denomination cannot be determined.
5. The bearer check must be presented for exchange.
6. Void after the expiration date.

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: Bank building

Front Right: 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: Bridge

China went through a period of hyperinflation during the last years of civil war 1948-49. In 1947, the highest denomination was 50,000 Yuan. By mid-1948, the highest denomination was 180,000,000 Yuan. The 1948 currency reform exchanged 1 Gold Yuan for 3,000,000 Yuan. Within a year, the highest denomination reached 10,000,000 Gold Yuan.

The Sinkiang Provincial Bank printed a series of high denomination Yuan notes just before the currency reform. They were circulated in 1949 at 600,000 Yuan face value equivalent to 1 Gold Yuan. The highest denomination in this series is 6,000,000,000 Yuan = 10,000 Gold Yuan.