Mo Money, Mo Money

In China, they use the yuan. In Hong Kong they use the Hong Kong dollar, which they simply refer to as dollars, unless there is the potential for confusion with American dollars in which case they refer to them as Hong Kong dollars.

Not only is every denomination of paper money a slightly different size, but each one is a different color. Three banks in Hong Kong have been commissioned to print money, so while all $100 bills are the same size and red, there are three different designs in circulation. The same is true for the $500, the $50, $20, and $10. The $10 has a translucent “window” in the middle of it that you can look through.

The coins range from $10 down to 10¢. The $10 coin is silver with a bronze inset. The $2 coin has a ripple-y edge. The 10¢ is really tiny. There are no 5¢ or 1¢ coins in Hong Kong. Here every purchase gets rounded off to the nearest tenth of a dollar.

The hardest thing about getting used to the Hong Kong money is the value. The Hong Kong dollar is fixed to the US dollar at HK$7.8 to US$1. So we’ve had to get used to forking over $20 for a burger (about $2.50).

It’s a little unsettling giving your daughter $10 to buy a granola bar at the after-school snack bar and getting no change back. Or spending $150 for a new pillow.

But no biggee. It’s just play money, right? I mean, just look at all those colors.

-Jack, Annika, and Elise