China Flag, Flag of China Image

China Flag image for printout, free download and activities for students.

About China Flag

China Flag: The national flag of China is also called the "Five-star Red Flag," has a red background with five golden stars charged at the canton. The pattern consists of one huge star and four smaller stars arranged in an arc directed toward the fly. It has served as China's national flag ever since the People's Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949. The red color represents the Chinese Communist Revolution, and the five stars and their relationship represents the Chinese people's unity under the CCP's rule. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) hoisted the flag for the first time on a pole overlooking Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 1, 1949, as part of a ceremony heralding the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The red backdrop of the flag, in accordance with the official government interpretation, represents the Chinese Communist Revolution. The five stars and their connection stand for the unification of the Chinese people under the CCP's rule. The constellations' orientation suggests that the unity should have a central point. The four smaller stars that surround the larger star stand in for the four social classes of China's New Democracy that Mao mentions in his essay "On the People's Democratic Dictatorship": the working class, the peasantry, the urban petite bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie. The larger star represents the CCP. According to some sources, the flag's five stars stand for the five main ethnic groups in China: Han Chinese, Zhuangs, Hui people, Manchus, and Uyghurs.

Regulations for China Flag Display

The People's Republic of China's National Flag Law contains specific guidelines on the locations and institutions where the national flag may be hoisted. It specifically states that the flag must be hoisted every day at Tiananmen Square, the Gate of New China, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the State Council, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, as well as at immigration offices, ports, railway stations, and other ports of entry. On working days, the flag should be displayed at various State Council departments, standing committees of local people's congresses at all levels, courts, and local committees of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as well as on property owned by those locations or organizations. Except on holidays and Sundays, national flags should be flown at all full-time schools.