China Flags

China's flag is known as the five-star red flag and consists of a red field with five golden stars in the upper-left corner. This flag represents the communist revolution in the country that succeeded in overthrowing the Chinese government in 1949. The flag, which has been in use since this time, was first publicly flown on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square, Beijing while the new leaders announced the formation of the People's Republic of China.

The flag's red background represents communism and the successful revolution in China; red was a favourite colour for communist revolutionaries due to its prevalence within the Soviet Union's flag and symbols. The four smaller gold stars represent the unity of the Chinese people coming together around a central figure (the Communist Party) which is represented by the most significant star on the flag. Furthermore, the four smaller stars can even describe the four classes within Chinese society at the time. The classes consisted of the working class, the peasantry, the urban petite bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie.

In 1949, the Communist Party of China put out a request for submissions for a new flag in various newspaper publications and received 3,012 submissions. Zeng Liangsong, a citizen of Zhejiang, submitted a design that he hoped would reflect his new found patriotism. Inspired by a Chinese proverb, "longing for the stars, longing for the moon", Liangsong created the flag that is still flown today. This patriotic Chinese citizen had a hard time believing his design was chosen until he was officially congratulated and compensated monetarily for his work.

China's flag was an important symbol for a radical changing of government and ideology after a brutal civil conflict led the former regime to flee to Taiwan. The Five-star Red Flag replaced a flag known as The Flag of the Republic Of China which consists of a red background with a blue square housing a white sun in the top left corner. This flag is still used by the nation of Taiwan, where the fleeing army of Kai Chang Shek continued their fight against the new communist government from 1949 onward. This flag is outlawed in several parts of China as it may represent anti-government sentiment.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Beijing
Languages	Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Ethnic Groups	Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai and other nationalities) 7.1%
Religion	Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, folk religion 21.9%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.2%
Government	Communist state
Independance	1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)
Area	9,596,960.00 km²
Water Area	270,550.00 km²
Land Area	9,326,410.00 km²
Population	1,373,541,278.00 Overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many other countries in Asia and Europe; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang
Location	Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
No. Bordering Countries	14
Bordering Countries	Afghanistan 91 km, Bhutan 477 km, Burma 2,129 km, India 2,659 km, Kazakhstan 1,765 km, North Korea 1,352 km, Kyrgyzstan 1,063 km, Laos 475 km, Mongolia 4,630 km, Nepal 1,389 km, Pakistan 438 km, Russia (northeast) 4,133 km, Russia (northwest) 46 km, Tajikistan 477 km, Vietnam 1,297 km
GDP(PPP)	$21,100,000,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$14,600.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are electrical and other machinery.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, and nuclear reactors and boilers.
Climate	Extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain	Mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Learn More	China

China Flags

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