The renminbi (literally "people's currency") is the legal tender in the Chinese mainland. At present, Chinese paper denominations include 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, and 100 yuan. There are three types of coins with denominations of 1 jiao, 5 jiao, and 1 yuan.

Both banks and international airports have exchange service counters. In China, ATMs are everywhere except for some remote towns and villages.

(1) At the airports

Airport foreign exchange is mostly done at banks. Some of them have rules for old and new notes. So, carry an adequate amount of new versions of the currency. Bank exchange rates may vary significantly.

Currency exchange machines 

The exchange rate at the currency exchange machine may be higher than that at the bank.

ATM 

They can usually be found near the bank. Most of them support MasterCard and Visa. You can withdraw RMB with a foreign debit or credit card.

(2) Not at the airports

You can choose from the following banks to exchange currency:

State-run banks

Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of Communications 

Commercial banks

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, China Industrial Bank, China Merchants Bank and China CITIC Bank 

Foreign banks 

Standard Chartered Bank, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

Although these banks offer foreign exchange services, their sub-branches may not offer such service. Look out for the green "EXCHANGE" icon. It is usually on the exterior wall of the bank. 

Sources: govt.chinadaily.com.cn, citynewsservice.cn