China's central bank said Thursday it will issue 44 commemorative coins in 2004, marking such events as 100th anniversary of the birth of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and the 50th anniversary of the country's legislature, the People's Congress.

An official with the People's Bank of China (PBC) said the remaining six of the eight categories included giant pandas, the lantern festival, Buddhist figure Kwan-yin, the literary classic Pilgrimage to the West, grotto art and the lunar new year of the rooster.

The official said 22 of the 44 coins would be minted in gold, 19 in silver, two in platinum, and one in palladium.

The exact time for the issues would be announced later, said the official.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2003)