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 Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty

Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...

 from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

.

The emblem features the same design elements as the regional Flag of Hong Kong

Flag of Hong Kong

The Flag of Hong Kong — or Regional Flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China — features a white, stylised, five-petal Hong Kong orchid tree flower in the centre of a red field. Its design was adopted on 4 April 1990 at the Third Session of the...

 in a circular setting. The outer white ring is shown with the caption of the official name of the territory in Traditional Chinese and the English short form, "Hong Kong".

History

• Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)
  Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)
  The Government Flying Service is a disciplined unit of the Government of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 April 1993, when Hong Kong was under British rule. It then took over all the non-military operations of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force , which was an auxiliary unit of the United...
  
   aircraft
• Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) - above entrance of the Former French Mission Building
  Former French Mission Building
  The Former French Mission Building is a declared monument of Hong Kong. It is located at 1, Battery Path, Central. It currently houses the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.-Features:...
  
  .

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 Chinese 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 is an older variation of the Coat of arms of the United Kingdom.

Colonial coat of arms (1959-1997)

The arms had been in use in colonial Hong Kong

Colonial Hong Kong

In the 19th century the British, Dutch, French, Indians and Americans saw Imperial China as the world's largest untapped market. In 1840 the British Empire launched their first and one of the most aggressive expeditionary forces to claim the territory that would later be known as Hong Kong.In a few...

 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

Government of Hong Kong

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, commonly the Hong Kong Government, is led by the Chief Executive as Head of the Government, who is also the head of the Hong Kong SAR...

) ended in 1997 where it was replaced by the regional emblem. The Coat of Arms feature a shield

Shield

A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....

 with two sections: the charge

Charge (heraldry)

In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...

 bears two traditional Chinese junk

Junk (ship)

A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...

s facing each other. Inside the chief

Chief (heraldry)

In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...

 or field

Field (heraldry)

In heraldry, the background of the shield is called the field. The field is usually composed of one or more tinctures or furs. The field may be divided or may consist of a variegated pattern....

 (red portion) is a gold-coloured naval crown. The 'embattled' (castle-like) design separates the chief from the rest of the shield. The crest

Crest (heraldry)

A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....

 features a lion holding a pearl

Pearl

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...

. The shield is held up by two supporters

Supporters

In heraldry, supporters are figures usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. These figures may be real or imaginary animals, human figures, and in rare cases plants or inanimate objects...

, a lion

Lion

The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...

 and a Chinese dragon

Chinese dragon

Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...

. The shield and supporters stand on the compartment

Compartment

In heraldry, a compartment is a design placed under the shield, usually rocks, a grassy mount , or some sort of other landscape upon which the supporters are depicted as standing...

, which consists of a heraldic island bearing the motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...

 (banner) "HONG KONG".
The two junks symbolise the importance of trade within the colony. The naval crown symbolises Hong Kong's links with the Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 and the Merchant Navy

Merchant Navy

The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...

, and the battlements commemorate the Battle of Hong Kong

Battle of Hong Kong

The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The pearl held by the lion wearing the imperial crown in the crest personifies the romanticised phrase "Pearl of the Orient" referring to Hong Kong. The lion and dragon supporters show the British and Chinese (local) aspects of Hong Kong. The island symbolises the beginning of the colony as an island and represents the maritime and hilly geography

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 of Hong Kong.

The small lion standing on the crest alone had featured on the reverse

Obverse and reverse

Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags , seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse...

 of Hong Kong coinage

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 British monarch's effigy. From January 1993 to November 1994, a new series depicting...

 before the introduction of the Bauhinia design in preparation for the transfer of sovereignty

Transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong

The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, referred to as ‘the Return’ or ‘the Reunification’ by the Chinese and ‘the Handover’ by others, took place on 1 July 1997...

 in 1997.

Application of the Coat of Arms during British rule (1959-1997)

• Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)
  Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)
  The Government Flying Service is a disciplined unit of the Government of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 April 1993, when Hong Kong was under British rule. It then took over all the non-military operations of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force , which was an auxiliary unit of the United...
  
  aircraft (1993-1997)
• Legislative Council (1959-1997)
• Most court rooms (1959-1997)
• Government House (1959-1997)
• Central Government Office (1959-1997)

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.

External links

• Hong Kong Special Admininstrative Government Flags & Emblems Information