The People’s Bank of China issued the 2024 Lunar New Year commemorative banknote (often called “Dragon Chao” / 龙钞) under Announcement No. 21 of 2023. Released from 15 December 2023 as part of the 2024 Year of the Dragon (甲辰) suite, it opened a planned 12-year polymer zodiac note series.
Birth of the zodiac note series
The 2024 Dragon note (Pick P911) opened the People’s Bank of China’s planned 12-year polymer zodiac programme. Issued under Announcement No. 21 of 2023 from 15 December 2023, it is China’s first legal-tender commemorative banknote on plastic substrate — distinct from earlier Olympic paper commemoratives.
One hundred million notes were printed — a large mintage by Hong Kong commemorative standards but modest relative to mainland circulation issues. Face-value appointment in January 2024 capped orders at 20 notes per person; fancy serials and PMG/ACG slabs drive most secondary-market premiums today.
Design and specifications
The reverse depicts children performing a dragon-lantern dance against Beijing courtyard-house motifs. The note is 145 × 70 mm, printed on polymer, with SPARK colour-shift “20”, a transparent window, dynamic holographic patterns and braille denomination marks. Total mintage was 100 million (including 20,000 archive specimens).
Issue and collecting notes
- Public appointment ran 3–10 January 2024 through major banks; each person could reserve up to 20 notes at face value.
- As legal tender it circulates at ¥20, but uncirculated, fancy-serial and PMG-graded examples trade at premiums.
- It launched the annual zodiac note programme continued by the 2025 Snake and 2026 Horse issues.