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Free Han Xin Code generator.
Han Xin Code is the ISO/IEC 20830 2D code built for Chinese characters. Enter Chinese or Western text and download the symbol.
How to create a Han Xin Code
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01
Enter the text
Chinese characters, accented letters, € and line breaks are stored as GB18030; the generator picks the smallest version.
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02
Plan for level L1
The generator encodes at L1, about 8% recovery. TBarCode SDK goes up to L4, about 30%.
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03
Print in whole dots
Set your printer's dpi and a module width in Pixel, download PNG, and keep a 3-module quiet zone, which the default image lacks.
What Han Xin Code is
Han Xin Code is a square 2D matrix symbology (ISO/IEC 20830:2021; in China, GB/T 21049-2022) with finder patterns in all four corners. Dedicated Chinese character modes fit up to 2,174 common Chinese characters per symbol. Use it where a Chinese customer or system asks for it.
Who specifies Han Xin, and which readers decode it
The Article Numbering Center of China led its development; TC267, China's national committee for logistics information, is responsible for GB/T 21049, a recommended national standard.
Zebra's DS2208 decodes Han Xin but ships with it disabled, unlike QR Code. Apple's Vision framework and Google's ML Kit do not list Han Xin, so apps that rely on them alone cannot read it.
More Chinese text than QR Code
As UTF-8, a common Chinese character takes 3 bytes, so the largest QR Code holds 984 characters; the largest Han Xin Code holds 2,174. Five Chinese characters fit version 1 (23 × 23 modules).
The drawing uses 0.508 mm modules, 4 dots at 200 dpi or 6 at 300 dpi, so modules print as whole dots.
Image formats and TBarCode SDK
Without an account, the online generator makes one code at a time, as GIF, PNG or JPG, and SVG with a plan. A data sheet creates many codes after a free sign-in.
TBarCode SDK generates Han Xin in your own applications through .NET, ActiveX or DLL components, with settings for version, level up to L4, mask pattern and binary encoding.
Han Xin Code at a glance
- Standards
- ISO/IEC 20830:2021; GB/T 21049-2022 (China)
- Encoding modes
- Numeric, text, binary, four Chinese modes, ECI, Unicode, GS1, URI
- Capacity
- 7,827 digits or 2,174 common Chinese characters
- Symbol size
- 23 × 23 to 189 × 189 modules
- Error correction
- L1, L2, L3, L4: about 8%, 15%, 23%, 30%
- Quiet zone
- 3 modules per side
When another code is safer
Safer for phone apps: Apple's Vision and Google's ML Kit list it, and Zebra's DS2208 reads it by default.
Adopted by GS1, as GS1 DataMatrix; needs only a 1-module quiet zone.
Frequently asked questions
Learn more about Han Xin Code.
Can a smartphone scan a Han Xin Code?
Do scanners read Han Xin by default?
How many Chinese characters fit in a Han Xin Code?
Is Han Xin Code part of the GS1 system?
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