Flag of China

People's Republic of China
Five-star Red Flag
UseCivil and state flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion2:3
Adopted27 September 1949 (approved)
1 October 1949 (1949-10-01) (introduced)
DesignA large golden star within an arc of four smaller golden stars, in the canton, on a field of Chinese red.
Designed byZeng Liansong
Flag of China
Simplified Chinese中国国旗
Traditional Chinese中國國旗
Literal meaningState flag of China
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó guóqí
Bopomofoㄓㄨㄥ ㄍㄨㄛ´ ㄍㄨㄛ´ ㄑㄧ´
Wade–GilesChung1-kuo2 kuo2-ch'i2
IPA[ʈʂʊ́ŋkwǒ kwǒtɕʰǐ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationZùngwók gwókkei
Flag of the People's Republic of China
Simplified Chinese中华人民共和国国旗
Traditional Chinese中華人民共和國國旗
Literal meaningState flag of the People's Republic of China
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó guóqí
Bopomofoㄓㄨㄥ ㄏㄨㄚ´ ㄖㄣ´ ㄇㄧㄣ´ ㄍㄨㄥ` ㄏㄜ´ ㄍㄨㄛ´ ㄍㄨㄛ´ ㄑㄧ´
Wade–GilesChung1-hua2 Jen2-min2 Kung4-ho2-kuo2 kuo2-ch'i2
IPA[ʈʂʊ́ŋxwǎ ɻə̌nmǐn kʊ̂ŋxɤ̌kwǒ kwǒtɕʰǐ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationZùngfàa Jànman Gùngwogwók gwókkei
Five-star Red Flag
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWǔ xīng hóng qí
Bopomofoㄨˇ ㄒㄧㄥ ㄏㄨㄥˊ ㄑㄧˊ
Wade–GilesWu3 hsing1 hung2 ch'i2
IPA[ù ɕíŋ xʊ̌ŋ tɕʰǐ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationNgh sèng gùng kei

The national flag of the People's Republic of China is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off towards the fly. The five stars and their relationships to each other represent the unity of four social classes of Chinese people, symbolized by four smaller stars, under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), symbolized by the large star. The red represents the Chinese Communist Revolution. It is commonly called the "Five-star Red Flag" in China.

The China's first national flag, called the Yellow Dragon Flag, was adopted by the Qing dynasty in 1862, featuring the Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl in the upper left corner. On 10 January 1912, with the Xinhai Revolution and the establishment of the Republic of China, the Five-Colored Flag was adopted as the national flag by the Beiyang government, featuring five colored stripes representing the five major ethnic groups in China. After the successful Northern Expedition, which saw the Kuomintang overthrowing the Beiyang government, a flag consisting of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles was adopted as China's national flag.

The Five-star Red Flag was adopted as the national flag of China since the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949. The flag was designed by Zeng Liansong, whose design was approved by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The flag was first hoisted by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on a pole overlooking Beijing's Tiananmen Square on 1 October 1949, at a ceremony proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic of China.