The former site of the Head Office of the People's Bank of China

The former site of the Head Office of the People's Bank of China

The former site of the Head Office of the People's Bank of China is a national key cultural heritage protection unit.

The former site of the Head Office of the People's Bank of China, commonly known as the "Little Grey Building," is located at the intersection of Zhonghua North Avenue and Xingkai Road in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, and is a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit.

The "Little Grey Building" earned its name because it was built with cement, resulting in a grey exterior. Before the liberation of China, the building went through three historical phases: it served as the office of the Shimen River Works Division under the Construction Department of the Japanese puppet North China regime; after Japan’s surrender in 1945, it was used as the headquarters of the advance detachment of the Kuomintang army; in November 1947, when Shijiazhuang was liberated, it became the office of the first municipal committee of Shijiazhuang, before being handed over to the Jin-Cha-Ji Border Region Bank. In 1948, the preparatory office of the People's Bank of China relocated from Xibaipo to the Little Grey Building. On December 1, the People's Bank of China was officially established here, and the first set of Renminbi was issued on the same day. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the head office of the People's Bank of China moved to Beijing. In the 1950s, the "Little Grey Building" was handed over to the local military for use.

In 1999, the Little Grey Building was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage protection unit in Shijiazhuang; in 2001, it was listed as a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit. In October 2006, the People's Bank of China Shijiazhuang Branch reclaimed the building’s usage rights and planned to restore it to its original appearance, establishing the former site memorial museum of the People's Bank of China Head Office and the Hebei Numismatic Museum. In June 2008, renovation work on the Little Grey Building began, with the main structure expected to be completed by the end of the year. The restored building will feature the reconstructed office of the first governor, Nan Han Chen, and the original site where the Renminbi was issued—the Issuance Department. There will also be four exhibition halls: the Exhibition Hall of Currency History in Chinese Revolutionary Base Areas, the Exhibition Hall of Renminbi Development History, the Exhibition Hall of Historical Currency in Hebei, and a temporary exhibition hall.

In May 2013, the former site of the Head Office of the People's Bank of China was listed as part of the seventh batch of national key cultural heritage protection units.

Further reading:

· Fourth Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Heritage Protection Units