Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province joins the digital renminbi, or e-CNY, trials. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

The digital yuan had been promoted in more than 10,000 offline stores across Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province as of May 16.

Ningbo joined the digital renminbi, or e-CNY, trials in China at the beginning of April.

The People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank, on April 2 released the list of new regions taking part in the e-CNY trials. Among them are the six Chinese cities - Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Jinhua - that will be involved in the 19th Asian Games.

As of May 16, 445,900 digital yuan wallets, including 416,100 that are privately owned, had been opened in Ningbo. People can now use the digital yuan wallet to shop and pay transport fees and utility bills in the city.

Payment scenarios for shipping, commerce and supply chain finance will be rolled out soon, according to local financial supervision authorities.

To further promote the digital yuan, the local government plans to issue red envelopes worth 5 million yuan ($769,230.7) on Yongpai, an app backed by Ningbo Daily, this month.

One stands the chance to receive a red envelope containing 50 yuan after completing a certain amount of transactions using UnionPay.