The flag of Macau, officially the regional flag of the

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (; pt, Bandeira regional da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau ) is light green with a

lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

flower above the stylised

Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge The Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, also known as the Macau–Taipa Bridge, is a dual-lane two-way bridge connecting Macau Peninsula near Casino Lisboa and the island of Taipa at the northern slope of Taipa Pequena (Small Taipa Hill) crossin ...

and water in white, beneath a circular arc of five golden five-pointed stars: one large star in the center of the arc with two smaller stars on each side of the large star, each with a point angled directly outward from the center of the common circle on which they lie. The lotus was chosen as the floral emblem of

. The Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge is a bridge linking the

Macau Peninsula The Macau Peninsula is the most populous and historical part of Macau. It has an area of () and is geographically connected to Guangdong Province at the northeast through an isthmus wide. The peninsula, together with downtown Zhuhai, sits o ...

and the island of Taipa. The bridge is one of the most recognisable landmarks for the territory. The water beneath the lotus and the bridge symbolise Macau's position as a port and its role played in the territory. The five five-pointed stars echo the design of the

flag of the People's Republic of China The National Flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off to ...

, symbolising the relationship Macau has with its sovereign state. According to the Basic Law of Macau, the Macau Regional Flag is a green flag with five stars, lotus flower, bridge and sea water. This law also adopted "Apart from displaying the

Flag of the People's Republic of China The National Flag of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Five-star Red Flag, is a Chinese red field with five golden stars charged at the canton. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in an arc set off to ...

, the Macao Special Administrative Region may also use a regional flag".

1993 proposals

In 1993, several proposed designs were put forward. * Similar to the current flag of

, but the lotus is stylised differently and is found in a disc, with the stars inside the flower * A

tricolour A tricolour () or tricolor () is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty, or revolution. The flags of France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, and Ireland were ...

of red-white-red; the middle band has a depiction of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau * A triband with a stylised " M" standing for Macau; a large star above four smaller stars representative of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

* A vertical bicolour of green and red, resembling the

Flag of Portugal The national flag of Portugal ( pt, Bandeira de Portugal) is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms of Portugal ( armillary sphere and Portuguese ...

, with a stylised lotus flower in the lower fly * A red and blue stylised " M" with a large five-pointed star, with a red lotus blossom within the centre of the star, on the upper fly of a white flag with two blue horizontal bands * Similar to the current flag of Macau, but the flag colour is red, and the emblem excludes the bridge and water underneath the lotus on the current flag * A stylised lotus flower with an arch of yellow stars on a red flag * A stylised lotus flower with an arch of yellow stars above the flower on a red flag * A depiction of the

Guia Fortress The Guia Fortress ( pt, Fortaleza da Guia; ) is a 17th-century colonial military fort, chapel, and lighthouse complex in São Lázaro, Macau. The complex is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau. The view of the fortre ...

Lighthouse, the oldest in Asia, under a golden star; a white halo ring forms around the lighthouse, and two light cones divide the upper fly (red in colour) and lower fly (blue in colour) * A vertical bicolour of green and red, resembling the

, with a white gull in the upper fly and a white depiction of the Gov. Nobre de Carvalho Bridge in the lower fly * A stylised lotus flower on a red flag with an arch of yellow stars above the flower * A red triangle with base on hoist and apex on the fly edge, filled with the stars from the flag of China * A stylised lotus flower, with a red-outlined star within the top petal * Another depiction of the Gov. Nobre de Carvalho Bridge in the lower fly on a red flag, with the five yellow stars running parallel to the outline of the bridge File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 001.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 002.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 003.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 004.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 005.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 006.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 007.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 008.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 009.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 010.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 011.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 012.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 013.svg

Color scheme

Portuguese rule

Prior to the handover of Macau to the People's Republic of China by the Portuguese Republic in 1999, Macau officially used only the

Portuguese flag The national flag of Portugal ( pt, Bandeira de Portugal) is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms of Portugal ( armillary sphere and Portuguese ...

, in contrast to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, which, under British rule, used a defaced

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or Defacement (flag), defaced with a Heraldic badge, ...

as its flag, alongside the

Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

. In 1967, there were proposals to give each

overseas province Overseas province ( pt, província ultramarina) was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas domini ...

its own flag, consisting of the Portuguese flag with the local coat of arms, but none was ever adopted. There was a flag for the

Government of Macau The Government of the Macau Special Administrative Region (; Portuguese: Governo da R.A.E. de Macau; conventional short name Macau Government, 澳門政府, Governo de Macau), are headed by secretariats or commissioners and report directly to ...

, with the colony's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

on a light blue field.Casa de Macau Vancouver – Handover Archives
/ref> There was a flag for the Portuguese-ruled Municipal Council of Macau, with a Portuguese-style coat of arms and two angels as heraldic supporters, which was used at the 1999 handover ceremony as well as the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

Macau historical flags

Gallery

File:Flag of Portuguese Colony Governor.svg, Flag of the Portuguese Governor of Macau File:Flag of Portuguese Macau (proposal).svg, Proposed flag of the

Portuguese Macau Portuguese Macau (officially the Province of Macau until 1976, and then the Autonomous Region of Macau from 1976 to 1999) was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colony that existed from the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 to the ...

References

External links

Macau Handover Ceremony 1999Lei n.º 6/1999 Utilização e Protecção da Bandeira e do Emblema RegionaisRegulamento Administrativo n.º 5/2019 Disposições concretas relativas à utilização das Bandeiras e Emblemas Nacionais e Regionais e à execução instrumental e vocal do Hino Nacional
* {{nationalflags Culture of Macau