i have only done FX exchange in china once in shanghai at the bank of china (and probably
never will again - its a beauracrat and red-tapers wet dream). so i had some nice crisp £20 notes
which they accepted, never did notice or think much about the condition of the notes and
the acceptability of them at that time though. i still think china is less picky about the condition
of the foreign currency they receive as compared to laos or thailand.

but strangely, i have had no problems paying for goods and 'services' with the
most messed up of RMB notes in china, be it shanghai or DG. i have had 100 RMB notes which
were so worn and thin like they were a 1-ply tissue paper and even some which were torn
down the middle and had to be taped up to keep it together. from hotels to restaurants to
shopping centres to the markets to the WGs, i have had no problems or quibbles about
the note condition.

the AUD is pretty cool isn't it? its made from this special polymer paper material that is supposed
to last longer and not tear that easily...maybe the more international currencies should do
that (like the USD and EUR). it really makes life much easier in some parts of the world.