In 1981, China began minting coins to commemorate the Chinese New Year. The Chinese lunar series consist of gold, silver and platinum coins, in a variety of sizes, denominations and shapes. The reverse of each coin depicts the zodiac animal for the corresponding year of issue, while the obverse features an historical building or other notable cultural image.

1981–1992 (1st Lunar Series)

The size, mintage, metal content and even face value changed, throughout the first series. This is a reflection of China's gradual adoption of the ounce over the metric gram in line with international bullion standards and China's improving economic conditions and technological advances. From 1981 to 1987, the obverse and reverse of the 8 g gold coin were the same as that of the 15 g silver coin. The exception being in 1985, when the reverse differed. 1987 seems to be special: (1) both the 5 oz. silver lunar coin and the 5 oz. silver panda coin were debuted, (2) the 5 oz. silver lunar coin was the first of the series to be over 99% pure silver, and (3) the 5 oz. silver coin had a face value of 50 yuan, even though it contained over 10 times as much silver as the 15 g silver coin, which had a face value of 10 yuan. In 1988, the first platinum lunar coin was introduced and the number of different lunar coins exploded when the Shanghai Mint began minting a different set of lunar coins. In total, there were 4 different designs: the 5 oz coins featured triple dragons and the 15 g and 8 g coins each featured a different dragon; the Shanghai Mint coins featured double dragon reverses. All coins minted by the Shenyang mint, unless noted with an "SH", which indicates that it was minted by the Shanghai mint. The size, mintage and face values are listed to illustrate the numerous changing standards in the first lunar series.

The 2nd Series 1988–1999 for 1 oz Ag Piedfort

These were minted as 1 oz silver, but were 32 mm in diameter, instead of the standard 40 mm. This increased the thickness in the style of a piedfort coin.

The 3rd Series 1997–2008 for 1 oz Ag

The 4th Series 2009–2020 for 1 oz Ag

The 1st Scallop Series 1993–2004 for ⅔ oz Ag

Mintage: 6,800 each

The 1st Scallop Series 1993–2004 for ½ oz Au

Mintage: 2,300 each

The 2nd Scallop Series 2005–2016 for 1 oz Ag

Mintage: 60,000 each

The 2nd Scallop Series 2005–2016 for ½ oz Au

Mintage: 8,000 each

The 1st Fan Series 2000–2011 for 1 oz Ag

Mintage: 66,000 each

The 1st Fan Series 2000–2011 for ½ oz Au

Mintage: 6,600 each

The 2nd Fan Series 2012–2024 for ⅓ oz Au

The 2nd Fan Series 2012–2024 for 1 oz Ag