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About China ->
National Flag, National Emblem and National Anthem
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 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.
National Anthem
The National Anthem of PRC is March of the Volunteers, created in 1935 by
playrwright Tian Han (lyrics), and by Nie Er (music), an initiator of the
Chinese new music movement. The song was originally the theme song for a film
called "Sons and Daughters of the Storm", which describes China under the
Japanese invasion of Manchuria. In it, some intellectuals overcome their
indecisiveness and rush to the battlefront of the anti-Japanese resistance. When
the film was screened, the song became a call for all Chinese to liberate
themselves.
The lyrics are as follows:
Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;
With our very flesh and blood
Let us build our new Great Wall!
The peoples of China are at their most critical time,
Everybody must roar defiance.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of hearts with one mind,
Brave the enemy's gunfire,
March on!
Brave the enemy's gunfire,
March on! March on! March on, on!
Listen: National Anthem of People's Republic of China
On September 27, 1949, the First Plenary Session of the CPPCC unanimously
adopted a resolution making "March of the Volunteers" the temporary national
anthem. It was formally adopted on March 14, 2004, in the second session of 10th
National People's Congress. "March of the Volunteers" was stipulated as the
Chinese National Anthem in the constitutional amendment.
The Capital: Beijing
Exercising the functions and power of the National People's Congress (NPC),
which had not yet been established, the First Plenary Session of Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) adopted the Common Program of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 29th, 1949.
During the meeting, it was decided to make Beijing the capital of the People’s
Republic. On October 1st, Chairman Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the
People’s Republic of China at the Tian’anmen tower. Since then, as the capital
of the New China, Beijing, together with the Republic, has opened a new page in
Chinese history.
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