Yuan jiaochao paper currency

Timeline

1. 1260Kaiping (Shangdu) · Inner MongoliaFollowing the advice of Confucian officials such as Liu Bingzhong and Xu Heng, Kublai promulgated Zhongtong jiaochao in the first year of Zhongtong, stipulating a silver base and fixed issuance, with a Jiaochao Superintendent Office managing printing and circulation, formally establishing the Yuan unified paper currency system.
2. 1264–1270Dadu (Khanbaliq) · North ChinaAs Kublai established Dadu and unified north and south, Zhongtong jiaochao circulated increasingly in North China, the Central Plains, and newly annexed Southern Song frontier areas, linked to taxes, salt certificates, and maritime trade, becoming the empire's core payment instrument.
3. c. 1271Dadu (Khanbaliq) · North ChinaMarco Polo described in detail in his travels how Yuan paper notes were printed on bark and circulated widely in markets and government offices, one of the earliest systematic European accounts of Chinese paper money, reflecting the international renown of the jiaochao system by the 13th century.