Bank of China (BOC) or Bank of China Limited (simplified Chinese: 中国银行; traditional Chinese: 中國銀行; pinyin: Zhōngguó Yínháng; often abbreviated as 中银 or 中行) is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China.
It was founded in 1912 by the Republican government to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China still in existence. From its establishment until 1942, it issued banknotes on behalf of the Government along with the "Big Four" banks of the period: the Farmers Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Central Bank of the Republic of China. Although it initially functioned as the Chinese central bank, in 1928 the Central Bank of China replaced it in that role. Subsequently, BOC became a purely commercial bank. Its headquarters are in Xicheng District, Beijing.[2]