Emblem of Macau

Emblem of Macau

The current devised emblem of Macau came into use in 20 December 1999, when the sovereignty of Macau was transferred from Portugal to the People's Republic of China. The emblem is now referred to officially as the "Regional Emblem".

Description

The regional emblem features the same design elements as the regional flag of Macau in a circular setting. The outer white ring is shown with the caption of the official name of the territory in traditional Chinese characters (as opposed to the simplified form): "中華人民共和國澳門特別行政區" (Macau Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China) and the Portuguese short form, "Macau".

History

The coat of arms used by Portugal followed traditional European styles:

The first coat of arms of Macau was used until the end of the 19th century. It's just the arms of Portugal surrounded by the saying Cidade do nome de Deus, não há outra mais Leal (Portuguese for "City of the Name of God, there is none more Loyal").

The second coat of arms was used until 1935, when most of Portuguese colonies had their coat of arms reformed. It shows a dragon in light orange color, similar to the pattern found on Imperial China flags.

The last coat of arms of colonial Macau, used until 1999, shown here in its most simple form, was used in banknotes, coins, stamps, official documents and appears also in the facade of the "Banco Nacional Ultramarino" in Lisbon.

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  First coat of arms

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  Second coat of arms

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  Simple coat of arms