---
title: "Flag of China: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the China flag stands for, its official 2:3 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted. Plus the flags it gets mistaken for."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of China

**The flag of China: A red field with one large yellow five-pointed star in the upper hoist and an arc of four smaller yellow stars to its right.**

Ratio 2:3 · current design adopted 1949

*[Flag drawn on the page: China]*

The four small stars are not simply arranged in an arc — each one is rotated so that one of its points aims directly at the centre of the large star, which is why reproductions that keep all five stars upright look subtly wrong. The design was chosen from more than 2,900 public submissions in 1949; the winning entry, by Zeng Liansong, originally had a hammer and sickle inside the large star, removed to avoid looking like a copy of the Soviet flag. The 2:3 ratio and the exact star geometry are set out in the national standard GB 12982. Colloquially the flag is the Wǔxīng Hóngqí, the "five-starred red flag".

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Red** (#EE1C25) — Revolution
- **Yellow** (#FFFF00) — The colour of the stars; traditionally associated with the Chinese people

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Large star | The Communist Party |
| Four small stars | The four social classes of the 1949 united front |

- **Ratio:** 2:3
- **Current design adopted:** 1949
- **Colours:** red, yellow

## Common questions

### What does the flag of China look like?

A red field with one large yellow five-pointed star in the upper hoist and an arc of four smaller yellow stars to its right.

### What do the colours of the China flag mean?

Red: revolution. Yellow: the colour of the stars; traditionally associated with the Chinese people.

### When was the China flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1949, and its official ratio is 2:3.

## Related pages

- [China](https://atoneplace.net/country/china/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)
- [The flag of Mexico](https://atoneplace.net/flag/mexico/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)