The national emblem of the People's Republic of China is the Tian'anmen Gate in the center illuminated by five stars and encircled by ears of grain and a cogwheel. It symbolizes the people's democratic dictatorship established in New China, led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. On June 18, 1950 the Second Session of the First National Committee of the CPPCC adopted the People's Republic of China's national emblem and its explanation. On September 20 of the same tear, Chairman Mao Zedong ordered the promulgation of the national emblem of the People's Republic of China.

    On the eve of the birth of the People's Republic of China, on October 1,1949 Qinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts set up a national emblem design group. They solicited several hundred designs from around the country. Through their repeated comparisons and improvements, the design of the present national emblem was completed. On the national emblem the Tian'anmen Gate is the emblem of the national spirit; the ears of grain and the cogwheel symbolize the peasants and workers, and the five stars indicate the unity of the people throughout the country under the leadership of the CPC.