 Throughout the 19th century there was an abundance of different star patterns, rectangular and circular.On July 4, 2007, the 50-star flag became the version of the flag in longest use, surpassing the 48-star flag that was used from 1912 to 1959.The U.S. flag was brought to the city of Canton (Guǎngzhōu) in China in 1784 by the merchant ship "Empress of China", which carried a cargo of ginseng.