Cantonese opera features on new HK$100 banknotes launched by HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) on Tuesday

The time-honoured traditions of Cantonese opera form the backdrop of a brand new set of HK$100 notes to be launched in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The city’s note-issuing banks, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong), have come up with their own designs to capture the spirit of the hugely popular ancient art form on the new-look banknotes.

The notes, available at bank branches from Tuesday, bear characters and scenes evoking the celebrated musical stage shows, including a princess in a Chinese wedding gown and young lovers in a garden.

They are the latest in a series of themed banknotes that started last year that has included a HK$1,000 banknote celebrating Hong Kong as a smart international financial centre, and a HK$500 note issued in the Lunar New Year featuring natural scenery.

“Among the current series of banknote designs, I particularly like the HK$100 banknote because it features the Cantonese opera, which is a very traditional Hong Kong culture and popular performing art,” said Norman Chan Tak-lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

In Hong Kong, it is the de facto central bank that decides security features of paper currency, but the three note-issuing banks came up with the designs.