The flag of Hong Kong depicts a stylised, five-petal, white orchid against a red field. It’s been the country’s official flag since 1997, symbolising the ‘one country, two systems’ principle behind the city’s reunification with China. The emblematic flower of the flag comes from the Bauhinia blakeana, also known as the Hong Kong Orchid Tree. On the flag, the flower is illustrated in white as a symbol of peace and harmony. Each of the flower’s petals feature a five-pointed, red star that is a reproduction of the same five stars on the Chinese national flag and a symbol of the ruling Communist Party. The red background also symbolically couples Hong Kong and the mainland. Before the adoption of the current flag, the colonial flag used by Hong Kong between 1959 and 1997 was a ‘Blue Ensign’ flag, featuring Hong Kong’s coat of arms on a white disk. The design included two Chinese junks, a naval crown and a lion holding a pearl, a reference to Hong Kong’s moniker as the Pearl of the Orient.