General Information » Facts & Figures » National Flag

Hong Kong’s pre-1997 flag incorporated Britain’s Union Jack, so it obviously had to be replaced. A competition to design a new flag was held, with a panel of judges selecting the winner from the thousands of entries submitted. Surprisingly, the winning design was rejected by the Chinese government, so a second more formal selection process had to follow.

The design that was finally adopted depicts Hong Kong’s national flower, the bauhinia, on a red background. The flag shares themes with China’s national flag, as each use the same shade of red, and each shows five stars.

You can see the flag outside many government buildings, or, if you are awake early, you can attend the public flag raising at the Golden Bauhinia Square outside the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. The flag is raised each morning at 08:00, by five police officers. On the first day of the month there is more of a show, as the five officers wear ceremonial dress and are accompanied by a rifle escort team and the Police Silver band.