What flower is on the Hong Kong flag and what does it symbolize?

1. What flower is the Hong Kong flag?

The flower on the Hong Kong flag is the Bauhinia. Bauhinia is a tree or shrub of the genus Cercis in the Fabaceae family. Its flowers usually bloom in clusters of 4-10 before the leaves appear. It has many varieties, most of which have purple or rose-red flowers, and a few are white. It is the district flower of Hong Kong and also the school flower of Tsinghua University.

2. Symbolic Meaning

1. Family affection: Bauhinia can represent family affection and has the symbolic meaning of family reunion. This flower is painted on the flag of Hong Kong, symbolizing the strong kinship between Hong Kong and the mainland.

2. One Country, Two Systems: The background colour of the Hong Kong flag is red with a white bauhinia flower painted on it. Red is the color of the Chinese national flag and can represent the motherland, while Bauhinia is the regional flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and can represent Hong Kong. So it can also represent that Hong Kong belongs to China. The difference in color between the two can also represent "one country, two systems".

3. Related legends

According to legend, more than a hundred years ago, in order to resist the invasion of British invaders, countless ancestors took up arms and fought bravely one after another. After the war, people built a large tomb on Guijiao Mountain to bury the martyrs who had died. After several years, a beautiful flower grew on the mountain that had never appeared before. This flower soon bloomed all over Hong Kong. In order to commemorate the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives, people named this flower Bauhinia.