Flag of China

Country

Flag of China uses red field with five golden stars in the canton. Ratio 2:3, current adoption September 27, 1949 and design credited to Zeng Liansong.

Hoist Ratio 2:3 Fly

Flag Reference

Flag	Flag of China
Entity Type	Country
Official Name	People's Republic of China
Identifier	CN / CHN
Region	Eastern Asia

Flag Specifications

Current Adoption	September 27, 1949
First Documented Use	1949
Proportion	2:3
Shape	Rectangle
Colours	Red, Gold
Designer	Zeng Liansong
Construction	Red field with five golden stars in the canton
Common Name	Five-star Red Flag

Documented Colour Values

Colour	Appearance	HEX	RGB	CMYK
Red		#EE1C25	238, 28, 37	0, 88, 84, 7
Gold		#FFFF00	255, 255, 0	0, 0, 100, 0

Design and Symbolism

Red	the communist revolution.
Gold	the five stars and the golden brightness of the land.
Large star	The leadership of the Communist Party.
Four small stars	The four social classes united under it; each small star has one point aimed at the centre of the large one.

Proportions

Ratio	2:3
Hoist	2 units
Fly	3 units

About the Flag of China

Red field with five golden stars in the canton The recorded proportion is 2:3. Within this library it is grouped with plain field with a central emblem designs.

Colours and construction

The reference palette stored for China is Red (#EE1C25) and Gold (#FFFF00). The colour table above is intended for digital reference; where an issuing authority publishes a different colour standard, that specification takes precedence.

Symbols and recorded meaning

Large star: The leadership of the Communist Party; Four small stars: The four social classes united under it; each small star has one point aimed at the centre of the large one.

History and adoption record

The design record traces first use to 1949. The adoption field for the present record is September 27, 1949. The designer is recorded as Zeng Liansong.

Additional flag context

The large star represents the Communist Party and the four smaller stars the social classes identified in the founding ideology, each with one point aimed at the centre of the large star.

The design was chosen from nearly three thousand entries submitted to a public competition in 1949; the winner, Zeng Liansong, was an economist working in Shanghai.

His original design had a hammer and sickle inside the large star, which was removed before adoption.

How to identify this flag

For quick identification, look for Red field with five golden stars in the canton, a 2:3 proportion and the visible large star. Use the comparison and design-family links on this page when another flag has a similar palette or layout.

Verification sources

Flags of the World — China — Specialist vexillological reference

Other plain field with a central emblem flags

See all

Facts about the Flag of China

China is recorded as red field with five golden stars in the canton.
The reference proportion for the flag of China is 2:3.
The stored palette for China contains Red and Gold.
The adoption field for this country flag record is September 27, 1949.
The design record traces first use to 1949.
Zeng Liansong is credited in the dataset as the designer of the flag.
Its construction is grouped with the plain field with a central emblem design family in this library.
Large star: The leadership of the Communist Party.
Four small stars: The four social classes united under it; each small star has one point aimed at the centre of the large one.
The large star represents the Communist Party and the four smaller stars the social classes identified in the founding ideology, each with one point aimed at the centre of the large star.
The design was chosen from nearly three thousand entries submitted to a public competition in 1949; the winner, Zeng Liansong, was an economist working in Shanghai.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Flag of China

What does the flag of China look like?

Red field with five golden stars in the canton, with a recorded proportion of 2:3.

What proportion is recorded for the flag of China?

The reference proportion stored for this flag is 2:3.

Which colours are recorded for the flag of China?

The reference palette lists Red #EE1C25 and Gold #FFFF00.

What do the symbols on the flag of China represent?

Large star — The leadership of the Communist Party. Four small stars — The four social classes united under it; each small star has one point aimed at the centre of the large one.

When was the present flag record for China adopted?

The adoption field in this record is September 27, 1949.

Who designed the flag of China?

The designer is recorded as Zeng Liansong.

Which design family does the flag of China belong to?

WorldFlags.online groups it with plain field with a central emblem designs for visual browsing; that classification describes construction, not necessarily historical ancestry.