National Flag

The national flag of the People's Republic of China is a red rectangle emblazoned with five stars.
The red of the flag symbolizes revolution; the stars are yellow so that they will stand out brightly against the red ground. The larger star represents the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the four smaller ones, the Chinese people. This expresses the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

National Anthem

China's national anthem is "The March of the Volunteers." It has quite an interesting history. The song was originally written in 1935 as the theme song for a film called "Sons and Daughters of the Storm." The words were written by Tian Han, a famous modern writer, and set to music composed by Nie Er, a great revolutionary composer. The song urged people to join the National Resistance Movement against the Japanese in World War II. Here is a short excerpt: "Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves! With our flesh and blood, let us build our new Great Wall!" The song immediately swept the nation, and in September 1949, it was one of the songs submitted as a candidate for the national anthem. Many people liked the idea, and it was adopted as the anthem. But it was not until 1982 that "The March of the Volunteers" was officially named the national anthem by the National People's Congress.

National Emblem

The pattern of the national emblem is composed of the national flag, Tiananmen Square, ears of grain and a cogwheel. These symbolize the democratic revolution of the Chinese people since the May 4th Movement of 1919 and the birth of New China under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class on the basis of the worker-peasant alliance.