The national emblem of the PRC features Tiananmen Gatetower beneath five shining stars, encircled by ears of grain and with a cogwheel at the bottom.

The national anthem was written in 1935, with lyrics by the noted poet Tian Han and music by leading composer Nie Er. The lyrics are as follows:

Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;

With our very flesh and blood

Let us build our new Great Wall!

The peoples of China are at their most critical time,

Everybody must roar defiance.

Arise! Arise! Arise!

Millions of hearts with one mind,

Brave the enemy’s gunfire,

March on!

Brave the enemy’s gunfire,

March on! March on! March on, on!

This song, originally named March of the Volunteers, was the theme song of the film, Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm. The film tells the story of those who went to the front to fight the Japanese invaders in northeast China in the 1930s, when the fate of the nation was hanging in the balance.

This song, spirited, rhythmic and forceful, expresses the determination of the Chinese people ready to shed their blood and sacrifice their lives for the liberation cause and embodies the fine traditions of bravery, indomitability and unity of the Chinese nation in the fight against their common foe. So on September 27, 1949, the CPPCC decided to adopt the song as the provisional national anthem of the PRC, and the NPC on December 4, 1982 officially decided to adopt the song as the national anthem of the PRC.