China to issue commemorative coins featuring world's tallest wooden pagoda

BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank will issue a set of commemorative coins on Aug. 27 featuring the world's tallest wooden pagoda.

The set of three coins, all legal tender in China, consists of two gold coins and one silver coin, according to the People's Bank of China.

All three coins have the image of Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, north China's Shanxi Province, on the obverse side.

The pagoda, well known as the Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County, was built in 1056 with tenon-and-mortise work. The 67.31-meter-high building is the tallest and oldest wooden multi-story structure in the world, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The 100-gram round gold coin, with a denomination of 1,500 yuan (about 210 U.S. dollars), has a maximum circulation of 600 pieces. The reverse side features swift birds, auspicious clouds and distant mountains.

The 5-gram round gold coin has a denomination of 80 yuan and a maximum circulation of 10,000 pieces. Its reverse side features the image of the Sakyamuni statue on the first story of the pagoda.

The 30-gram round silver coin has a denomination of 10 yuan and a maximum circulation of 20,000 pieces. It is adorned with the image of statues on the fourth story of the pagoda.