Flag of Hong Kong
Asia
Quick Facts
- Capital
- City of Victoria
- Flag adopted
- 1997
- Population
- 7,527,500
- Area
- 1,104 km²
- Languages
- English, Chinese
- Currency
- Hong Kong dollar ($) — HKD
- Demonym
- Hong Konger
- Government
- presidential limited democracy
- Subregion
- Eastern Asia
- Driving side
- Left
- Timezones
- UTC+08:00
Religions
- Other 54.3%
- Buddhist 27.9%
- Protestant 6.7%
- Roman Catholic 5.3%
- Muslim 4.2%
- Hindu 1.4%
- Sikh 0.2%
Hong Kong is a dependent territory of China.
About This Flag
The flag of Hong Kong is a red field with a stylized white five-petal Bauhinia blakeana flower (the Hong Kong orchid tree) in the center. Each petal contains a small red five-pointed star and a red trace suggesting a stamen.
The flag was adopted on July 1, 1997, the day sovereignty over Hong Kong transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, replacing the British blue ensign that had flown since 1959. The design is defined in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
What the colors & design mean
Red mirrors the color of the national flag of China and represents the motherland; white stands for Hong Kong as a distinct social and economic system under "one country, two systems." The five petals each carrying a small red star symbolize Hong Kongers loving their nation, and the five stars echo those on the PRC flag.
Pattern: Complex Design
Bordering countries (1)
Fun Facts
- Bauhinia blakeana, the flower on the flag, was discovered in Hong Kong in 1880 and every specimen is a clone of one original tree — it is a sterile hybrid that cannot reproduce from seed.
- The flag's specifications are written into Article 10 of the Basic Law, meaning any change would require amending Hong Kong's constitutional document.
- The design was selected in 1990 from more than 7,000 entries submitted to a public design competition.
- Use, design and display of the flag are governed by the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance, which criminalizes desecration.
Similar looking flags
These flags share similar colors and patterns:
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