List of Chinese flags

For flags currently flying in the Republic of China (Taiwan), see List of Taiwanese flags.
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National flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1949– Flag of the People's Republic of China A red field, with a large yellow star at the canton, with four smaller stars to the right. This flag is flown in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
1928- Flag of the Republic of China A red field, with a blue canton containing a 12-ray white sun. This flag flew over Mainland China until 1949, and is presently flown in Taiwan and other islands under the control of the ROC. This flag can be sometimes seen in Mainland China, for historical and unofficial use.

Imperial flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1862–1890 The flag of Qing Dynasty Same as national flag.
1890–1912 The flag of Qing Dynasty Square version of above flag.
?-? Standard of the Qing Dynasty's Emperor

Proposed national flags of the People's Republic of China

In July 1949, a contest was announced for a national flag for the newly founded People's Republic of China. From a total of about 3,000 proposed designs, 38 finalists were chosen. In September, the current flag, submitted by Zeng Liansong, was officially adopted.[1]

Selection of proposals

Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China

Main articles: Flag of Hong Kong and Flag of Macau
FlagDurationUseDescription
1997– Flag of Hong Kong A white, five-petal Bauhinia blakeana on a red field
1999– Flag of Macau A lotus flower above a stylized bridge and water in white, beneath an arc of five gold, five-pointed stars on a green field

Political divisions

Cities of the People's Republic of China

As of 18 November 1997, the Government of the People's Republic of China banned localities from making and using local flags and emblems.[2] Despite this law, some cities have adopted their own flag that often shows the local Emblem as shown below.

FlagDurationUseDescription
May 1997–January 1998 Flag of Harbin[3] A white, five-petal flower surrounding a snowflake on a dark green field
December 1995– Flag of Suzhou[4]
December 1986–December 1997 Flag of Nanjing[5]
March 2009– Flag of Shangrao
March 2006– Flag of Kaifeng

Military flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1762- Flag of the Tibetan Army approved by the Qing imperial court Used by modern Tibetan independence movement as its symbol
1862–1890 Used on Qing Dynasty naval ships for identification Same as national flag.
1890–1912 The flag of the Qing Beiyang fleet Square version of above flag.
1888-1895 The flag of the Fleet Commander of the Beiyang fleet.
1927- Flag of the People's Liberation Army A red field with a yellow star at the canton, and the Chinese numerals for "8" and "1", the date of the PLA's establishment on 1 August 1927.
1927- Flag of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force The PLA flag with a green stripe at the bottom.
1927- Ensign of the People's Liberation Army Navy The PLA flag with 5 horizontal lines, 3 blue and 2 white at the bottom, representing the sea.
1927- Flag of the People's Liberation Army Air Force The PLA flag with a blue stripe at the bottom.
1924- Ministry of National Defense, R.O.C. (Republic of China Armed Forces)
1924- Republic of China Army (formerly National Revolutionary Army) The Blue Sky with a White Sun with a red border.
1924- Republic of China Navy Identical to the Kuomintang flag (see below).
1924- Republic of China Air Force
1924- Republic of China Marine Corps
1924- Republic of China Military Police

Non-state flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1895– Kuomintang flag. The "Blue Sky with a White Sun", 12 rays of the sun represent progressive ideals.
1921– Flag of the Communist Party of China Communist hammer and sickle
1929– Standard of the President of the Republic of China
1947–1986 Standard of the Vice President of the Republic of China Abolished with Act of Ensign of the Republic of China Navy (海軍旗章條例) on Jan. 3rd, 1986.
1929–1966 Civil Ensign of the Republic of China Four serrated yellow stripes are added to the flag of the Republic of China for use as a civil ensign at sea. Present civil ensign is national flag.
1957- Flag of Chushi Gangdruk

Historical national flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1862–90 Flag of the Qing Dynasty Naval flag, quasi-national flag on international occasions.
1889–1912 Flag of the Qing Dynasty Official national flag since 1889.
1912–28 First flag of the Republic of China, or "Five-colored flag" Used mainly in Shanghai and eastern parts of northern China until 1928. This flag was widely flown even before the founding of the Republic of China by Chinese on the eastern coast and garnered the greatest respect at the founding of the ROC. Stripes represent the five great races in China's history, according to Dr. Sun Yat-sen: red for Han Chinese, yellow to represent Manchus, blue as Mongols, white for Chinese Muslims, and black for Tibetans.

 1911–1928 Flag of the Wuchang uprising; army flag of the Republic of China The banner of the Wuchang uprising of October 10, 1911, subsequently used as the flag of the army of the Republic of China, ca. 1913–28.

 1916 Flags of Yuan Shikai's Empire of China. These variations on the initial flag of the Republic of China emphasize Han administration over other ethnicities in China.
Mainland China: 1924–49
Taiwan: 1945-		 Flag of the Republic of China Not used in areas administrated by the People's Republic of China except in historical venues. Currently used as the national flag of the Republic of China.
1931–34 Jiangxi Soviet republic flag Hammer and sickle along with Chinese characters for China Communist (Zhonggong, 中共) written in classical word order, i.e., read from the right.
1931–34 Flag of Chinese Soviet Republic National emblem on a red flag.
1933–34 Flag of Fujian People's Government

Other historical flags

FlagDurationUseDescription
1897– 1914 Flag of Tsingtau, Kiautschou[6] Reichskriegsflagge of the German Empire.
1897– 1914 Flag of the Governor of Tsingtau[7] Gouverneurflagge of the German Empire.
1897– 1914 Civil flag of Tsingtau, Kiautschou[8] Reichskriegsflagge der Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire.
1903-1930 Flag of the British concession of Weihaiwei A British Blue Ensign with two Mandarin ducks standing on a beach.
1870–1876 Flag of the British colony of Hong Kong A British Blue Ensign with a crowned "HK".
1876–1910 Flag of the British colony of Hong Kong A British Blue Ensign with local waterfront scene.
1910–1959 Flag of the British colony of Hong Kong A British Blue Ensign with local waterfront scene.
1959–1997 Flag of the British colony of Hong Kong A British Blue Ensign with the coat of arms of Hong Kong (1959–1997).
1985–1999 Flag of the Regional Council (Hong Kong) A stylized Bauhinia blakeana leaf outline in white, in the form of a diagonally-tilted capital "R", on a green background, representing the green of the leaves.
1960s – 1999 Flag of the Urban Council (Hong Kong) A stylized Bauhinia blakeana flower outline in white on a pink background, representing the colour of the flower.
1910–1941, 1945–1959 Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong
1959 – 1997 Flag of the Governor of Hong Kong
1670–1830 Flag of Portugal, used in colonial era colony of Macau The Portuguese flag was used in colonial-era Macau, as there was no territorial flag.
1830–1911 Flag of Portugal, used in colonial era colony of Macau The Portuguese flag was used in colonial-era Macau, as there was no territorial flag.
1911–1999 Flag of Portugal, used in colonial era colony of Macau The Portuguese flag was used in colonial-era Macau, as there was no territorial flag.
1975–1999 Flag of the Municipality of Macau, one of two local municipal governments. A light blue field charged with the coat of arms of the Municipality of Macau. This was the flag used at the handover to China in 1999.
1975–1999 Flag of Portuguese colonial Government of Macau. A light blue field charged with the coat of arms of the Government of Macau. During the Portuguese administration this flag also represented the Territory of Macau in the international forums, although it was not the official flag of the Portuguese colony.
1975–1999 (Not Official) Variant flag of Portuguese colonial Government of Macau. Not official variant without the Kingdom of the Algarve castles in the coat of arms. This flag was found at the University of Macau in a photo of International University sports meeting and it was used in the parade. Although this flag was never used officially, some sports media used it instead of the Portuguese Flag to represent the colony.
until
29 December 1928 		Flag of Fengtian clique. Used by warlords until Chinese reunification (1928).
1932–1945 Flag of Manchukuo A yellow field with the red, blue, white, and black stripes of the first flag of the Republic of China (see above) in the canton.
1940–1943 Flag of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China. Used by the Japanese puppet government until 1943 when the pennant was removed and the regular ROC flag took its place. The pennant reads "Peace, Anti-Communism, National Construction".
1845-1943 Flag of the Shanghai International Settlement

Note that Hong Kong and Macau were handed over to the People's Republic of China in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 《中华人民共和国国旗国徽国歌档案》,中央档案馆编，中国档案出版社出版,2009。
  2. ↑ 中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅关于禁止自行制作和使用地方旗、徽的通知 (Chinese Communist Central Governmental Notice to Ban Making and Using Local Flags and Emblems)
  3. ↑ 哈尔滨市市旗市徽制作和使用管理暂行办法
  4. ↑ 蘇州市城鄉建設檔案館
  5. ↑ 市徽图案废止后著作权的归属
  6. ↑ Kiautschou Tsingtau
  7. ↑ Kiautschou Tsingtau
  8. ↑ Kiautschou Tsingtau