500 Customs Gold Units 1947, China
| in Krause book | Number: 335 |
| Years of issue: | 1947 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | General Manager: Mr.Liang Ping, Assistant General Manager: Mr.Tian Yimin "Y.M. Dien" |
| Serie: | The Central bank of China |
| Specimen of: | 1947 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 145 х 62 |
| Printer: | American Bank Note Company, New-York |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Avers:
The engraving on banknote is made after this photo of Sun Yat-sen. The original photo is in National library of Congress (USA).
Sun Yat-sen (12 November 1866 - 12 March 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary, first president and founding father of the Republic of China ("Nationalist China"). As the foremost pioneer of Republic of China, Sun is referred to as the "Father of the Nation" in the Republic of China and the "forerunner of democratic revolution" in the People's Republic of China. Sun played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the years leading up to the Double Ten Revolution. He was appointed to serve as Provisional President of the Republic of China, when it was founded in 1912. He later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT), serving as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered amongst the people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Denominations are in all corners and centered.
Revers:
On banknote is The customs house in Shanghai.
The Custom House (Chinese: 江海关) is an eight storey building on the Bund, Shanghai. Built in 1927, the building remains a customs house today. Together with the neighbouring HSBC Building, the Custom House is seen as one of the symbols of the Bund and Shanghai.
The present Custom House occupies an area of 5,722 square meters (61,590 sq. ft.), with 32,680 square meters (351,800 sq. ft.) of floor space. The building is in two section: the eastern section is eight storeys tall and faces the Huangpu River. It is topped by a clock tower, which is eleven storeys or 90 meters (300 ft.) tall. The western section is five stories tall, and faces onto Sichuan Road. A reinforced concrete core was used while the exterior follows a Greek-revival Neo-Classicist design. The eastern section is entirely surfaced in granite, as are the first two storeys of the western section, with the upper three storeys faced with brown bricks. The main entrance has four Doric columns. Eaves are found above the first and second storeys, with a larger one above the sixth floor. Large stone columns penetrate from the third to the sixth storey.
Inside the main entrance is the main hall. Marble columns are decorated with gold leaf. At the center is an octagonal dome, with mosaics on the eight sides.
The most noted feature of the Custom House is the clock tower and clock. The clock tower offers views over the entire Bund and Shanghai city center. It has four faces, each made up of more than 100 pieces of glass, between 0.3 and 1 meter (1 ft. 0 in. and 3 ft. 3 in.) in size. The diameter of each face is 5.3 meters (17 ft.), with 72 automatic lamps. The clock and bell mechanisms are built according to the design of Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. The bells were cast by John Taylor Bell-founders and the clock mechanism was built by "JB Joyce & Co" in England before they were shipped to Shanghai in 1927. It remains to be the largest clock in Asia. During the Cultural Revolution, the clock music was changed to The East is Red. The traditional tune (the Westminster Quarters) was restored in October 1986, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Shanghai. In 1997, however, on the eve of Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, the municipal Communist Party branch ordered the music to be stopped. In 2003, the tune was changed once again to The East is Red. The clock's mechanisms are not in fact able to play this tune: the music played is in fact a recording played over loudspeakers, and not played by the bells. 
Denominations in numerals are repeated 7 times. In words once.
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