Does the flag law explain what each star means?
The law defines the five-star design and calls the flag a symbol and hallmark of the People's Republic of China. It does not assign a separate meaning to each star in its text.
Flag of China
Its colour palette includes red and yellow.
Current flag
Flag emoji 🇨🇳
China
Flag facts
Information about the flag’s design, colours and proportions.
- Proportion
- 2:3 height: width
Flag design
- Layout
- Plain field
- Symbols
- Star – Canton
- Colours
- Red and yellow
Sources
What China's flag law specifies
China's National Flag Law sets out the five-star arrangement in measurable terms. The large star's surrounding circle has a diameter equal to three-tenths of the flag's height; each smaller star's circle is one-tenth. The four smaller stars curve around the large star on its right.
The law was adopted on 28 June 1990 and took effect on 1 October that year. Article 2 says the flag must follow the manufacturing directions promulgated by the Presidium of the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; the appendix dates those directions to 28 September 1949.
Frequently asked questions
Did the detailed manufacturing directions originate with the 1990 law?
No. Article 2 refers to the Directions for the Making of the National Flag promulgated by the Presidium of the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The law's appendix dates those directions to 28 September 1949.
Country facts
- Type
- Country
- Name
- China
- Continent
- Asia
- Capital
- Beijing
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
- CN
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
- CHN
- ISO 3166-1 numeric
- 156
- Top-level domain
- .cn
- Area
- 9,596,960 km²
- Population
- 1,406,585,000 (2025)
- Currency
- CNY
- Calling code
- +86
Flags with a similar layout
These flags come from the same region and share one or more design characteristics.
Historical flags: China (1888–)
Images are ordered by the years listed in the collection. A listed year may not be the flag’s official adoption year.
About historical flags
Vexilla's historical flag collection includes former flags associated with present-day countries and territories, as well as flags of states, empires, and other authorities that historically governed them.
A flag's inclusion in a country's historical collection does not necessarily mean that the country was independent at the time or that the flag was its own national flag.
The years shown are based on historical records in the dataset and do not always indicate the date of official adoption. The collection is not exhaustive, and historical usage, territorial coverage, and interpretations may vary.
