The Regional Flag of the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is light green with a lotus flower above the stylised Governador Nobre de Carvalho Bridge 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

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. The Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge is a bridge linking the Macau Peninsula and the island of

Taipa Taipa ( zh, t=氹仔, ; , ) is an area in Macau, connected to Coloane through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Located on the northern half of the island, Taipa's population is mostly suburban. Administrativ ...

. 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, 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 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 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

; * A vertical bicolour of green and red, resembling the

Flag of Portugal The national flag of the Portugal, Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the Flag terminology#Description of standard flag parts and terms, hoist, and r ...

, with a stylised lotus flower in the lower fly; * A symbol with a red, a blue, and a green circle arranged in a pyramid with a yellow star inside the red circle over a horizontal bicolour of white and yellow; * 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 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 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 t ...

; * 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 012.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 014.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 011.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 001.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 009.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 013.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 008.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 007.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 006.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 010.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 002.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 005.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 004.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 015.svg File:Proposed flag for Macau SAR 003.svg

Color scheme

Portuguese rule

Prior to the handover to China in 1999, Macau officially used only the Portuguese flag, in contrast to

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

which used a defaced

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

as its flag, alongside the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

. In 1967, there were proposals to give each

overseas province Overseas province () 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 dominions", but administrative re ...

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

Government of Macau The Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Macao Government, is the Executive_(government), executive authorities of Macau. Formed on 20 December 1999 in accordance with the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declarati ...

adopted a flag 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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

on a light blue field.Casa de Macau Vancouver – Handover Archives
/ref> Meanwhile, the Municipal Council of Macau had a flag 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 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and 1998 Asian Games.

Historical flags

Gallery

File:Flag of Portuguese Colony Governor.svg, Flag of the Portuguese

Governor of Macau The governor of Macau (; ) was a Portugal, Portuguese colonial official who headed the Portuguese Empire, colony of Portuguese Macau, Macau, before 1623 called captain-major (). The post was replaced on 20 December 1999 upon the handover of M ...

File:Flag of Macau (1932 proposal).svg, Proposed flag for

Portuguese Macau Macau was under Portuguese Empire, Portuguese rule from the establishment of the first official Portuguese settlement in 1557 until its Handover of Macau, handover to China in 1999. It comprised the Municipality of Macau and the Municipality of ...

(1932) File:Flag of Portuguese Macau (proposal).svg, Proposed flag for

(1965) File:Flag of Macau construction 01.svg, Construction sheet

Notes

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
*
Direcção dos Serviços de Assuntos de Justiça - Symbols of our Country & of the MSAR
{{nationalflags Culture of Macau

Green flags Vertically symmetrical flags