The Birth of Paper Money: the 1,000th Anniversary of the Jiaozi

Today, located in City of London, the Bank of England, with a history of more than 300 years, is a pioneer of modern finance. It is also one of the world’s oldest central banks.

Here, visitors can see British banknotes, silver coins and ancient Roman currency etc. While visitors walk into the Garden Court of the Bank, they will see four mulberry trees, which originate from China and are rare in the UK. So why are these trees planted here?

A tourist reminder in the Garden Court reads: ‘The four mulberry trees act as reminders of the origins of paper money. The earliest form of government paper money was issued in the 10th century in China on the pulp of mulberry bark. Mulberry trees are slow growing and have shallow roots. The vaults of the Bank are below!’

World’s first paper money

In the 10th century, during the Northern Song Dynasty, China issued the world’s first official paper money, Jiaozi, which was made from mulberry bark.