The Regional Emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China came into use on 1 July 1997, after the

transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special adm ...

from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to the People's Republic of China. The emblem features the same design elements as the regional

flag of Hong Kong The flag of Hong Kong, officially the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, depicts a white stylised five-petal Hong Kong orchid tree (''Bauhinia blakeana'') flower in the centre of a ...

in a circular setting. The outer white ring is shown with the caption of the official name of the territory in

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

and the English short form, "Hong Kong".

History

Colonial badge

The colonial badge was in use since 1843 in one version or another until it was replaced by the coat of arms granted in 1959. Throughout several revisions, the idea of the badge remained. It depicted three merchants and a pile of cargo on a wharf on the left in the foreground. In the background there was a square-rigged ship and a Chinese junk in the harbour backed by conical hills. Above was the

royal arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the royal arms for short, is the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently King Charles III. These arms are used by the King in his official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Varia ...

Colonial arms

The arms had been in use in

Colonial Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Britis ...

since it was granted on 21 January 1959 and later adopted on the colonial flag in July of that year. The use of the arms by the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino- ...

ended in 1997, when it was replaced by the regional emblem. The arms featured two traditional Chinese junks facing each other, and on a red embattled

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

a golden naval crown. The crest was a crowned lion holding a

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

, and the

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals. However, unlike the c ...

were a crowned British lion and a

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...

. The shield and supporters stood on a compartment, consisting of an island, with a scroll bearing the words 'Hong Kong'. The two junks symbolise the importance of Eastern-type of trade on the sea surrounding the colony. The naval crown symbolises Hong Kong's links with the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and the Merchant Navy, and the crenulated line acknowledges the brief but valiant defence of Hong Kong against the Japanese during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In the crest, the pearl held by the lion indicates the small but precious nature of the Colony. It also recalls the romanticised phrase "Pearl of the Orient" referring to Hong Kong. The lion and dragon supporters show the British and Chinese connections of Hong Kong. The island symbolises the beginning of the colony as an island and represents the maritime and hilly

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

of Hong Kong. The small lion standing on the crest alone had featured on the reverse of Hong Kong coinage before the introduction of the Bauhinia design in preparation for the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. The colonial arms has been adopted by a group called the Hong Kong Autonomy Movement (HKAM) as their flag for Hong Kong autonomy. The flag features the old coat of arms against a blue background. The HKAM felt that supporters of Hong Kong autonomy from China needed a symbol around which they could rally. The flag imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong after the handover was inappropriate, as was the old flag under the British, as both failed to represent true Hong Kong autonomy. The old coat of arms was chosen because it is easily recognisable by people in Hong Kong as representing Hong Kong albeit under the British. The HKAM flag has the old coat of arms in the center against a blue ground whereas the old colonial flag had the coat of arms enclosed with a circle on a blue ground with the Union Jack in the canton.

Display

During British rule, the coat of arms were displayed by Government House, the Legislative Council, most

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

, and the Central Government Offices. The arms were also in use by aircraft of the Government Flying Service.

Current emblem

The modern emblem came into use on 1 July 1997, after Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China.

Description

The Regional Emblem of the Hong Kong is round in shape. It bears a red circular edge, an outer ring marked with scripts, a red inner ring with a design of a swaying

bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and J ...

with 5 star-shaped stamens. The swaying bauhinia design at the centre of the inner ring of the emblem is white in colour. It is formed by 5 petals, each with a red 5-pointed star and a red style. The petals are evenly arranged around the central point of the emblem in a clockwise direction. The centre of the bauhinia lies on the central point of the emblem. The outer ring marked with scripts lies between the red circular edge and the red inner ring. The words and characters, on a white background, are red in colour. Evenly arranged in the upper part of the outer ring are the

traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took a ...

''(People's Republic of China Hong Kong Special Administrative Region)'' in the standard format for the regional emblem. The bottom of each character points towards the centre of the regional emblem. The English words "HONG KONG" in the standard format for the regional emblem are evenly arranged further down the outer ring. HKLCB Chmber PresidentSeat

Display and use

The regional emblems are displayed at the Central Government Offices. In addition, the regional emblem is displayed at major government offices and buildings, such as Government House, the Executive Council, the legislative council, the law courts of various levels, District Offices, all border control or check points in Hong Kong, the

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distingui ...

and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices overseas. The official car of the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of governor of ...

also bears the emblem of Hong Kong. In addition, the emblem of Hong Kong is displayed on the cover page of important government documents, such as Consultation papers and Policy Address of Hong Kong.

References

External links

Hong Kong Special Administrative Government Flags & Emblems Information
National symbols of the People's Republic of China Regional symbols of Hong Kong

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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

Chinese heraldry {{Heraldry-stub