Cycling The Silk Road In China – It is not what they’re worth, It’s HOW they look

We handed our US dollars mindlessly, to the lady at the foreign exchange counter in Beijing.

She did not just accept them, straightened them and calculated the exchange…..

Instead, she examined each and every hundred dollars bill, to make sure that it is absolutely PERFECT…..or very close to perfect…..

Every bill which had a writing on it, or a slight tear, was immediately rejected.

Every bill with some wear from folding it, was also rejected.
We were left with a bunch of hundred dollars bills, which we cannot exchange while in China…(we tried to exchange these ‘rejected bills,’ later at our hotel).

So if you plan to bring cash to exchange on your trip, bring NEW crispy and fresh looking bills…