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

handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

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

flag of Hong Kong 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 Chinese red field. Its design i ...

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 system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

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 Junk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junk'' (film), a 2000 Japanese horror film * '' J-U-N-K'', a 1920 American film * ''Junk'' (novel), by Melvin Burgess, 1996 * ''Junk'', a novel by Christopher Largen * '' Junk: Record of the Last ...

in the harbour with a

flag of the Qing dynasty The flag of the Qing dynasty was an emblem adopted in the late 19th century (1889) featuring the Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl in the upper left corner. It became the first national flag of China and is usually re ...

backed by conical hills. Above was the

royal arms of the United Kingdom The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, also referred to as the royal arms, are the arms of dominion of the British monarch, currently Charles III. They are used by the Government of the United Kingdom and by other The Crown, Crown instit ...

Colonial arms

The arms had been in use in

colonial Hong Kong Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 to 1997, except for a brief period of Japanese occupation during World War II from 1941 to 1945. It was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1841 to 1981, and a dependent territory from 1981 to ...

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) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

ended in 1997, when it was replaced by the regional emblem. The arms featured two traditional Chinese

s 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 boat ...

a golden

naval crown The Naval Crown () was a gold crown surmounted with small replicas of the prows of ships. It was a Roman military award, given to the first man who boarded an enemy ship during a naval engagement. In heraldry a naval crown is mounted atop t ...

. The

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings * The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York * "The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York * Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Sw ...

was a crowned lion holding a

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

, and the

supporters In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the Escutcheon (heraldry), shield and depicted holding it up. Historically, supporters were left to an individual's fr ...

were a crowned British lion and a

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

. 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, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

of Hong Kong. The small lion standing on the crest alone had featured on the reverse of

Hong Kong coinage The Hong Kong coinage, including 10¢, 20¢, 50¢, $1, $2, $5 & $10, is issued by Hong Kong Monetary Authority on behalf of the Government of Hong Kong. From 1863 until 1992, these coins were embossed with the reigning List of British monarchs, ...

before the introduction of the Bauhinia design in preparation for the

handover In cellular telecommunications, handover, or handoff, is the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another channel. In satellite communications it is the process of transf ...

in 1997. The colonial arms has been adopted by a group called the

Hong Kong Autonomy Movement Hong Kong Autonomy Movement (), sometimes known as the Hong Kong City State Autonomous Movement (), is a movement formed in Hong Kong amidst the raising awareness about Hong Kong's constitutional rights of high autonomy, free from interference ...

(HKAM) as their flag for Hong Kong autonomy. The flag features the old coat of arms against a blue background, with the territory's Chinese name "香港" (in reverse form) added to the shield.

Display

During British rule, the coat of arms were displayed by

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

, the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

, most

courts A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

, and the

Central Government Offices The Central Government Complex has been the headquarters of the Government of Hong Kong since 2011. Located at the Tamar site, the complex comprises the Central Government Offices, the Legislative Council Complex and the Office of the Chi ...

. The arms were also in use by aircraft of the

Government Flying Service The Hong Kong Government Flying Service (HKGFS) is a disciplined unit and paramilitary flying organisation of the Government of Hong Kong. The service has its head office in, and operates from, the southwestern end of Hong Kong International ...

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 ...

with five 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 five petals, each with a red five-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 a standard set of Chinese character forms used to written Chinese, write Chinese languages. In Taiwan, the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education (Taiwan), Ministry of Educat ...

''(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 farther down the outer ring.

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

, 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 an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

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.

Gallery

Little lion in the Coat of arms of Hong Kong (1959–1997).svg, Crest of the coat of arms of Hong Kong (1959–1997), featured on the reverse of Hong Kong coinage before the introduction of the Bauhinia design in preparation for the handover in 1997. Hong Kong Armorial Bearings (1959-1997) (Hong Kong Heritage Museum).jpg, Sculpted version of the colonial arms (1959–1997) Regional Emblem of Hong Kong (1990).svg, Original design of the regional emblem, approved in 1990 by the National People Congress. HKLCB Chmber PresidentSeat.jpg, Current emblem (1997–present), shown behind the seat of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

References

External links

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

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Chinese heraldry