To find out about current exchange rates and perform conversions, I recommend this site.

Hong Kong has branches of most major banks and cash can be either obtained from their ATM's or via currency exchange within the bank. There are also many licensed currency exchange booths available should you wish. The currency in Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Dollar (HK$)

The currency in China is the RMB or Yuan (¥).

Banks in China are more difficult in that different bank ATMs will accept  different foreign banks ATM cards - try it once and if the ATM rejects your card  just try another bank and you will more than likely find that it works. I would recommend that you always keep the advice slip and check the withdrawals against  your bank statement as sometimes a withdrawal can be declined but the money still taken! The daily withdrawal limit is as per your bank allocated limit  (remembering any service charges), but it is usually limited to either 2,500 or 3,000RMB per transaction.

The "China Merchants Bank" or "Bank of China" are a good bet and seem to accept most western bank ATM cards. However, as I say it is worth trying any convienient bank.

Another reason to retain your ATM advice slips is that when you leave, if you  wish to change your leftover RMB into other currencies, you may have to provide  the advice slip to prove that you brought the money into the country.

If you wish to change foreign currency or travellers cheques into RMB whilst in China, you WILL be required to produce your passport as part of the exchange for BOTH. Do not waste you time by going anywhere other than the Bank of China,  this is the only Chinese Bank that I have found will perform the exchange.

In some places you may be approached by people wanting to exchange your  foreign currency for RMB at a better rate than the bank - be warned THIS IS ILLEGAL and DANGEROUS.

A good website for detailing how to tell if the notes you are given are real are not can be found be clicking HERE.

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