This is the current list of the national symbols of China. The People's Republic of China (PRC) controls all of mainland China, while the Republic of China (ROC) controls Taiwan and nearby islands. See National symbols of Taiwan. Both countries used to claim to be the legitimate government of all of China, with Taiwan informally dropping territorial claims in the early nineties.
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Symbol | Image | Description | |
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National flag | ![]() | The national flag of the People's Republic of China was designed by Zeng Liansong. It has a red field charged with five golden stars in the canton. The color red represents the Chinese Communist Revolution, the four smaller stars represent the four social classes in Chinese society, and the largest star represents Chinese unity under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One corner of each of the four smaller stars points towards the center of the bigger star, representing the principle that unity should go around the center. This flag is flown in the mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau. | |
National emblem | ![]() | The National Emblem of China includes the Tiananmen Gate, where Mao declared the foundation of the People's Republic of China, in a red circle. Above the Gate are five stars; the largest represents the CCP, while the four smaller stars represent the four social classes. The emblem's outer border contains sheaves of wheat and rice, representing Chinese agricultural workers. At the bottom center is a cog-wheel, representing Chinese industrial workers. The red ribbon represents the unification of the Chinese people. | |
National anthem | The national anthem of China is the "March of the Volunteers". Its lyrics were composed by poet and playwright Tian Han and its music was composed by Nie Er. | ||
Founder of the nation | Mao Zedong [1] | ![]() | Mao Zedong (1893–1976) established the PRC on October 1, 1949, which remains a national holiday. His portrait is displayed on the entrance of Tiananmen Square. |
Qin Shi-huang [2] | ![]() | Qin Shi-huang (literally, "First Emperor of Qin") (259 BC - 210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and then, after the Qin conquered the other Warring States and unified all of China, the first emperor of a unified China. [3] He is widely considered to be the founder of China as a country. | |
National currency | Renminbi [ relevant? ] | The renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The yuan is its basic unit. | |
National animal | Giant panda [4] | ![]() | The national animal of China is the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanolueca), a bear native to south-central China. |
Chinese dragon [5] | | The Chinese dragon, or Loong, is one of four auspicious legendary creatures appearing in Chinese mythology and folklore. The dragon has many animal-like body parts, including wolf's head, stag's antlers, hare's eyes, bull's ears, serpent's torso, carp's squama, tiger's limbs and eagle's talons. [6] Theories claim that Loong was a combination of totems of many tribes created to unite them under one banner. | |
National bird | Red-crowned crane | ![]() | The red-crowned crane or Manchurian crane ( Grus japonensis ) is a large East Asian crane and among the rarest cranes in the world. It is found in Siberia (eastern Russia), northeastern China, and the Mongol Daguur Strictly Protected Area in northeastern Mongolia. |
Golden pheasant [ citation needed ] (unofficial) [ relevant? ] | ![]() | The golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) is a game bird of the family Phasianidae. Although it is native to western China, feral populations have been established in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. | |
National fruit | Fuzzy kiwifruit [7] | ![]() | The fuzzy kiwifruit is the national fruit of China. [7] It has fuzzy, dull brown skin and tangy, bright green flesh. |
Jujube [7] | ![]() | The jujube (Ziziphus zizyphus) is the second national fruit of China. [7] It is an oval drupe 1.5-3 centimeters deep; it resembles a date and has a single hard stone like an olive. | |
National tree | Ginkgo [8] | ![]() | Ginkgo ( Ginkgo biloba ) is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. |
National Instrument | Guqin [9] | ![]() | The guqin (古琴) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement. [10] |
National sport | Table tennis [11] | Table tennis has been declared by Chairman Mao as a Chinese national sport. [12] | |
National dish | Peking duck [13] | ![]() | China's globally recognized national dish is the Peking duck. [14] |
National Poet | Li Bai [15] [16] [17] | ![]() | Li Bai, also known as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai, art name Qinglian Jushi, was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. |
National Philosopher | Confucius [18] | ![]() | Confucius was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius's teachings and philosophy underpin East Asian culture and society, remaining influential across China and East Asia to this day. |
National Calendar | Chinese calendar [19] | The traditional Chinese calendar was developed between 771 and 476 BCE, during the Spring and Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. | |
National Clothing | Cheongsam [ citation needed ] | ![]() | Cheongsam and sometimes referred as the mandarin gown, is a Chinese dress worn by women which takes inspiration from the qizhuang, the ethnic clothing of the Manchu people. [20] |
Hanfu [21] | ![]() | Hanfu is the traditional styles of clothing worn by the Han Chinese. [21] | |
National Drink | Baijiu [22] [23] | ![]() | Baijiu is a Chinese colourless liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). [24] [25] |
National flower | Peony [ citation needed ] | ![]() | Paeonia lactiflora (Chinese peony, Chinese herbaceous peony, or common garden peony) is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to central and eastern Asia from eastern Tibet across northern China to eastern Siberia. |
Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. Taiwanese immigrants brought it to the United States in the 1990s, initially in California through regions including Los Angeles County, but the drink has also spread to other countries where there is a large East Asian diaspora population.
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in different beer styles such as lagers, stouts, and ales. Low-alcohol beer is also known as light beer, non-alcoholic beer, small beer, small ale, or near-beer.
Mead, also called hydromel, is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. Possibly the most ancient alcoholic drink, the defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the beverage's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. It may be still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling, and despite a common misconception that mead is exclusively sweet, it can also be dry or semi-sweet.
Soju is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage, traditionally made from rice, but later from other grains and has a flavor similar to vodka.It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.5% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% has become more popular.
There is a long history of alcoholic drinks in China. They include rice and grape wine, beer, whisky and various liquors including baijiu, the most-consumed distilled spirit in the world.
Drinking culture is the set of traditions and social behaviours that surround the consumption of alcoholic beverages as a recreational drug and social lubricant. Although alcoholic beverages and social attitudes toward drinking vary around the world, nearly every civilization has independently discovered the processes of brewing beer, fermenting wine, and distilling spirits, among other practices. Many countries have developed their own regional cultures based on unique traditions around the fermentation and consumption of alcohol, which may also be known as a beer culture, wine culture etc. after a particularly prominent type of drink.
Rice wine is a generic term for an alcoholic beverage fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during which microbes enzymatically convert its starches to sugar. Sake in Japan, Mijiu in China, and Cheongju and Makgeolli in Korea are some of the most notable types of rice wine.
Baijiu, or shaojiu (烧酒/燒酒), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV). Each type of baijiu uses its own type of qū for fermentation to create a distinct and characteristic flavor profile.
Liquor is an alcoholic drink produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit, distilled beverage, booze, spirituous liquor or hard liquor. The distillation process concentrates the liquid to increase its alcohol by volume. As liquors contain significantly more alcohol (ethanol) than other alcoholic drinks, they are considered "harder." In North America, the term hard liquor is sometimes used to distinguish distilled alcoholic drinks from non-distilled ones, whereas the term spirits is more commonly used in the UK. Some examples of liquors include vodka, rum, gin, and tequila. Liquors are often aged in barrels, such as for the production of brandy and whiskey, or are infused with flavorings to form flavored liquors, such as absinthe.
Purposeful production of alcoholic drinks is common and often reflects cultural and religious peculiarities as much as geographical and sociological conditions.
Snake wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by infusing whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. The drink was first recorded to have been consumed in China during the Western Zhou dynasty and believed in folklore to reinvigorate a person according to Traditional Chinese medicine. It can be found in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, Goa (India), Vietnam, Okinawa (Japan), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and throughout Southeast Asia.
An alcohol-free or non-alcoholic drink, also known as a temperance drink, is a version of an alcoholic drink made without alcohol, or with the alcohol removed or reduced to almost zero. These may take the form of a non-alcoholic mixed drink or non-alcoholic beer, and are widely available where alcoholic drinks are sold.
Chūhai, an abbreviation of "shōchū highball" (焼酎ハイボール), is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan.
Choujiu is a type of Chinese fermented alcoholic beverage brewed from glutinous rice. It is very thick and has a milky white color, which is sometimes compared to jade.photo Fermentation is carried out by a combination of the fungus Aspergillus oryzae, which converts the rice starches into fermentable sugars, and yeast, which converts the sugars into alcohol. Varieties of lactic acid bacteria are also commonly present in the fermentation starter. The traditional Chinese name of the fermentation starter is qū.
An alcoholic beverage is a beverage containing alcohol. Alcoholic drinks are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—and typically their alcohol content is between 3% and 50%.
Alcohol in Indonesia refers to the alcohol industry, alcohol consumption and laws related to alcohol in the South East Asian country of Indonesia. Indonesia is a Muslim majority country, yet it is also a pluralist, democratic and secular nation. These social and demographic conditions led to Islamic parties and pressure groups pushing the government to restrict alcohol consumption and trade, while the government carefully considers the rights of non-Muslims and consenting adults to consume alcohol, and estimates the possible alcohol ban effects on Indonesian tourism and the economy.
Khamr is an Arabic word for wine or intoxicant. It is variously defined as alcoholic beverages, wine or liquor.
Endowed with cosmological and metaphysical significance and empowered to communicate the deepest feelings, the qin is the most prestigious of China's instruments.