The Ten Flags of Hong Kong

Hong Kong may not have a long history as a city, yet in this short span of time, the territory has had ten official flags. When the British took possession of Hong Kong Island in 1841, the Union Jack became the de facto official flag of Hong Kong. Interestingly, before that, Hong Kong did not have an official flag, since the Qing Dynasty did not adopt an official flag until 1862. This means that neither Hong Kong Island nor Kowloon—colonised in 1860—ever had an official flag prior to British colonisation.

The New Territories, however, flew the flag of the Qing Dynasty: a dragon on a triangular yellow flag between 1862 and 1889, and the same pattern on a rectangular flag between 1889 and 1898, when the territory was leased to Great Britain.

Between 1871 and 1997—the year of the handover—Hong Kong had its own colonial flag: a Blue Ensign with a badge. Over these 126 years, five successive badges were used, culminating in 1959 when Hong Kong was granted a coat of arms.

Eventually, in 1997, when Hong Kong became a Chinese S.A.R., the current flag was adopted, depicting a white, stylised Bauhinia on a red background.

Yet, one must not forget a dark chapter in Hong Kong’s history. Between December 25, 1941, and August 15, 1945—throughout the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong—the Japanese flag was used by the military government as the de facto flag of Hong Kong.