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Vehicle registration plates in China are mandatory metal or plastic plates attached to motor vehicles in mainland China for official identification purposes. The plates are issued by the local traffic management offices, which are sub-branches of local public security bureaus, under the rules of the Ministry of Public Security. Hong Kong and Macau, both of which are special administrative regions of China, issue their own licence plates, a legacy of when they were under
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
administration. Vehicles from Hong Kong and Macau are required to apply for licence plates, usually from Guangdong province, to travel on roads in Mainland China. Vehicles from Mainland China have to apply for Hong Kong licence plates or
Macau licence plates In Macau, vehicle registration marks have been issued by the Transport Bureau since 2008. The bureau does not provide the registration plates themselves; these are made by garages and vehicle accessory shops at the owners' request. Overview ...
to enter those territories. The font used are in the Heiti (Traditional: 黑體, Simplified: 黑体) style.


History


1986-series plate

In July 1986, the 1986-Series Plates were put into use. The layout and format for them are listed out as follows: Hong Kong and Macau vehicles are issued with plates for Shenzhen (广东02) and Zhuhai (广东03), respectively. Red-on-black plate-bearing vehicles are only allowed to drive within said cities. White-on-black vehicles are permitted to drive within Guangdong province, while if the vehicles are issued with green or violet plates according to their types, they have no area limitations. Public security vehicles (e.g. police) are issued with single-line plates with the format GARR-####, where the RR is the regional code, and the following numbers are the serial number, with the "GA" (Abbreviation for 公安, ''Gong An'', "Public security") in red. The regional codes are as follows: Note: Chongqing was separated from Sichuan as a directly-administered city in 1997, and the 1986-series standard was abolished in 1997 as well, therefore Public security vehicles in Chongqing bear the Sichuan code of GA51, instead of the later-introduced GA50. 1986-series plates are allowed to have the first number in the serial replaced by a letter with a special meaning, such as T for "Taxi", Z for "自备车" (''Zi bei che'', "self-reserved vehicle"), G for "个体户“ (''Ge ti hu'', "entrepreneur").


Current Series types


Common types

The current plates are of GA36-2014 standard, a further update of the original GA36-1992, made from GB/T 3880.1 and GB/T 3880.2-compliant aluminum material with a thickness of no less than 1.2mm (for rear plates for large vehicles and trailers) or 1.0mm (for any other non-temporary plates), or 200-220g dedicated watermarked paper with plastic sealing for automobiles and motorcycles entering the border on a temporary basis, or 125g white paper-card for temporary license plates. The plates accommodate a one-character provincial abbreviation, a letter of the Pinyin alphabet, and five numbers or letters of the alphabet (Ex. ; ; ; ; ). Previously, all licence plates had used the five-number designation. As the number of motor vehicles grew, however, the number had to exceed what was the maximum previously allowable—90,000 or 100,000 vehicles. Therefore, there had become a need to insert Latin letters into the license plate to increase the number of possible combinations (for the full list of alphanumeric sequences permitted see below). This was first done in the bigger cities with only one prefix. Nanjing, for example, began the change with only the first number, which increased the number of possible combinations to 340,000 (with the exceptions of O & I, which cannot be printed without confusion with the numbers 0 & 1). Further changes allowed the first two places, or the second place alone on the plate to be letters, allowing 792,000 more combinations mathematically. More recently, cities have taken to having the third letter alone being a letter, the rest numbers. Permitted alphanumeric combinations per GA36-2014 standard are listed in the table below. Should the number of combinations issued exceed 60% of the theoretical capacity of its type, the combination next in the list may be put into use after approval from the Vehicle Management Office of the provincial Public Security authority and reporting to the Vehicle Management Office of the Ministry of Public Security. Note: Y and N in this table reflects whether or not this combination type may be used in registration plates with 4 or 5 places for digits/numbers, while D and L represents any permitted digit or letter respectively. The numbers are produced at random, and are computer-generated at the issuing office. Numbers with a sequence of 6s, 8s, or 9s are usually considered to be lucky, therefore special sequences like "88888" or "86888" can be purchased through auction. A previous licence plate system, with a green background and the full name of the province in Chinese characters, actually had a sequential numbering order, and the numbering system was eventually beset with corruption. License plates have different formats that are issued to different vehicles: Since October 2007, black plates are no longer issued for vehicles belonging to foreigners, as this was "deemed discriminatory" and instead standard looking blue plates are now issued. However, foreigners still are issued a separate dedicated letter/number sequence to denote that they are a foreign owned/registered vehicle—e.g. in Beijing, the foreign owned plates are in the , , and sequence. The black plates are still issued to those who registered in both Mainland China and Hong Kong or Macau, specifically in Guangdong province, which are in the sequence of 粤Z·####港/澳. Registration combinations of written-off vehicles may be "recycled", or used again on a different vehicle only after 6 months from the write-off according to relevant regulations, but as a matter of fact, certain serials of number like 京A·##### in Beijing is not available for general public once recycled for unspecified reasons. In 2015, a former Commissioner of Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, the traffic branch of Beijing Municipal Public Safety Bureau, was sentenced for life, having been found guilty of corruption relating to fraud in issuing these licence plate combinations.


Police Service, Armed Police Force, and Military

Licence plates for China's Police Service, Armed Police Force, and Military are in a white background, with red and black text. Police Service plates have a designated format of X·LLNNN (X is the geographical abbreviation, N is a digit, and L is either a digit or a letter; "" means police and is coloured red, but the separator dot is no longer a circle, rather, a dash). These plates are issued to traffic police, some patrol vehicles, court, and procuratorate vehicles. The plates’ combination of the
Chinese People's Armed Police Force ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...
("") begins with the pinyin ''wujing'' abbreviation WJ. The 2012 series of CAPF vehicle registration plates is in the WJ P NNNNL pattern, where the stands for a Chinese character i.e. for Beijing, serving as the provincial identifier, and the L denotes the first letter in pinyin of the branch of service. e.g. WJ = a vehicle for firefighting use in Shanghai The 2004 series use the format WJNN-NNNNN.
The first two small letters behind the WJ are area prefixes: *WJ01-NNNNN. = Headquarters *WJ31-NNNNN. = Beijing *WJ14-NNNNN. = Shandong *WJ21-NNNNN. = Hainan The Alphabet Numeral behind the area prefix shows the section of the Armed police: *WJ01-JNNNN. = Official Guards, Official and Diplomatic Escorts *WJ01-BNNNN. = Border Police *WJ01-XNNNN. = Firefighter (Fire Department) *WJ01-1NNNN. = Headquarters
Military vehicles previously had plates using a code of heavenly stems in red. After reorganization in 2004, again in 2013 military vehicles now use a more organized prefix. These licence plates use the format XL·NNNNN (X is a prefix, L is a letter). The People's Liberation Army vehicle prefixes 2013:
Military vehicles can be identified by having a red letter from the alphabet *V *V PLA Central Military Commission *K PLA Air Force *H PLA Navy *B PLA Beijing Military *VA PLA Central Military Commission *VB PLA Political Works *VC PLA Logistical Support *VD PLA Equipment Development
The People's Liberation Army vehicle prefixes 2004: *"" (Jūn; "Military")
''Vehicles of the Central Military Commission''
''Vehicles of the Headquarters of People's Liberation Army''
''Vehicles of the
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called t ...
's units at Army-Grade or above. Deputy-Military-Region-Grade, Military-Region-Grade.''
The
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
of
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called t ...
vehicle of the various military regions have their own prefixes: *"" (Beǐ) Vehicles of the
Beijing Military Region The Beijing Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. From the mid 1980s to 2017, it had administration of all military affairs within Beijing city, Tianjin city, Hebei province, Shanxi province, ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Shěn); Vehicles of the
Shenyang Military Region The Shenyang Military Region was one of seven military regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It has command and control of military and armed police forces in the three northeast provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, w ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Lán); Vehicles of the Lanzhou Military Region of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Chéng); Vehicles of the
Chengdu Military Region The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Jǐ); Vehicles of the
Jinan Military Region The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commande ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Nán); Vehicles of the
Nanjing Military Region The Nanjing Military Region () was one of the former seven military command regions for the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Its jurisdiction covers all military and armed police located in Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Shanghai. ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) *"" (Guǎng); Vehicles of the
Guangzhou Military Region The Guangzhou Military Region was from 1955 to 2016 one of the People's Liberation Army PLA Military Regions, located in the south of the People's Republic of China. In May 1949, the Central China (Hua Zhong) Military Region (MR) was formed. In M ...
of
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
) The Navy of
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called t ...
vehicle prefixes: *"" (Haǐ) The
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
of
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called t ...
vehicle prefixes: *"" (Kōng) Vehicles with government or military plates are not subject to the ''
Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China The Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China () is a law which was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on October 28, 2003, promulgated by Decree No. 8 of the Presiden ...
'' (中华人民共和国道路交通安全法); they may run red lights, drive in the wrong direction or weave in and out of traffic. Communist party officials and People's Liberation Army members are also exempt from paying road tolls and adhering to parking regulations.12 April 2008
Bogus Military Vehicles And Plates Seized
Sky News
According to Xinhua News Agency, "police officers are also reluctant to pull over drivers of military vehicles even if the drivers are breaking the law", which is the reason behind an emerging trend in which individuals purchase counterfeit military registration plates to avoid being pulled over by police and to avoid road fees. Xinhua News Agency reported in 2008 that since July 2006, the government has confiscated over 4,000 fake military vehicles and 6,300 fake plates and has apprehended over 5,000 people belonging to criminal gangs; under Chinese law, those caught driving under fake registration plates are fined up to 2,000 RMB, and counterfeiters can be jailed for up to three years.


Motorcycles

Motorcycle licence plates are nearly the same as that for ordinary vehicles, but are less in length and look more like an elongated square than a banner-like rectangle. There are two lines of text (province code and letter on the top, numbers on the bottom). For ''qingqi'' or low-powered motorbikes, blue licence plates are issued throughout.


Embassies and consulates

Since 2017, embassy and consulate vehicles have their own license plate with six white numbers followed by a single character denoting its diplomatic status, all on a black background (following the foreigner plate standard, as previously mentioned). Embassies use (''shǐ'', from meaning 'embassy') and are used only in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
. Consulates use (''lǐng'', from meaning 'consulate') and are used for representations outside Beijing. Numbers on embassy plates are formatted so that the first three digits represent the foreign entity/organization the vehicle is registered to while the last three digits are sequential, where 001 is (generally) the Ambassador's car, for example: 224·001使 is the car used by the American Ambassador. Numbers 002 to 005 are usually reserved for official use and therefore enjoy the comfort of the highest levels of diplomatic immunity. In order to protect the privacy of foreign diplomats, the government does not release information on embassy vehicles, so it is possible that some data in the list of plate prefixes below may not be correct.


Other types

Vehicles for use in automobile tests, vehicles for use in driving schools (examination and test-driving), and vehicles at airports all have their own separate licence plates. For automobile tests, licence plates consist of black characters on a yellow background with the suffix ''shi'' (试 short in Chinese for ''ce shi'' or test). For driving schools, different plates apply for test-drive vehicles (''jiaolian che'') and examination vehicles (''kaoshi che''). Airports have licence plates with white characters on a green background with the designation ''min hang'' (). This shade of green is slightly lighter than the variant used on normal licence plates prior to 1992. Some vehicles belonging to airports that operate ''in its vicinity'' (rather than inside its perimeters) have dark-green lettering on a white background. These plates, unlike others, permit the use of letter I (as in the ''SPIA-A00'' series used in
Shanghai Pudong International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport is one of two international airports serving Shanghai and a major aviation hub of East Asia. Pudong Airport serves both international flights and a smaller number of domestic fights, while the city's oth ...
) Sometimes, to avoid privacy invasion, modern Chinese TV show series are set in fictitious locations. Vehicles featured in these shows often carry registration plates with non-valid provincial abbreviations and/or invalid typefaces.


Cross-border with Hong Kong and Macau

Licence plates with a black background and the character or in place of the last number are used for Hong Kong and Macau vehicles, respectively, when they engage in cross-border traffic to and from Mainland China. These plates often exist side by side with a local Hong Kong or
Macau licence plates In Macau, vehicle registration marks have been issued by the Transport Bureau since 2008. The bureau does not provide the registration plates themselves; these are made by garages and vehicle accessory shops at the owners' request. Overview ...
on the same car. See the section on Guangdong license plates.


Interim licence plates

Interim licence plates are a piece of paper to be affixed to the front of the vehicle's window, usually valid for 15 days.


Shortlived 2002 standard

For a short while in the summer of 2002, a new 2002 standard was instituted in several cities, including
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
. They enabled number/alphabetical customisation. (The possible combinations were NNN-NNN, NNN-LLL and LLL-NNN, where N would be a number and L a letter. However, although the usage of "CHN", to designate China, was not permitted in the plates, that restriction, oddly enough, did not apply to the letters "PRC".) The VIN was also added to the new plates, and the plates were white, with a gradual blue tint at the bottom end of the plates. Black letters were used on the plate. In late August 2002 new 2002 standard plates had their issuance temporarily interrupted, officially for technical reasons, but actually because some number/alphabetical combinations of a controversial nature in Mainland China were utilised. One of the biggest controversies was when a vehicle with plate number USA-911 was spotted in Beijing, causing an uproar as it was taken to be a reference to the September 11 attacks, and as such was criticized as being disrespectful to Americans. Equal uproars were created with such plates as PRC-001, and trademark violations were rife; the plate number IBM-001 and was seen. The WTO acronym was also spotted in the plates. In a society that is still rather conservative in this topic, the plate SEX-001 was the source of yet another controversy. The number 250, an insult in spoken Chinese, was also spotted in some plates. Possibly due to the controversies as described above, as of summer 2003, the new plates are no longer being issued. Old plates of the 2002 standard are not being recalled. Cars who have lost their 2002-standard plates are disallowed to get a 2002-standard replacement. The 1992-standard plates will be issued instead.


New 2007 Standard (GA36-2007)

The Ministry of Public Security has announced on October 30, 2007, that the 1992 vehicle license plate system will be overhauled on November 1, 2007. * The current black license plates assigned to foreign-owned vehicles will be phased out. New vehicles will be issued "normal" blue license plates. * Two roman letters (not including O, or I, which could be confused with numerals) may be included among the last five places of the plate number. A minor difference between the 2007- and the 1992-standard plates is that the separator dot between the regional code and the serial on 2007-standard plates is embossed along the characters, while that on 1992-standard plates are pressed ''into'' the plate, in the opposite direction of the characters. Number plates issued in the 1992 standard will not be recalled but black plates will no longer be issued. Neither will plates issued to embassies be affected. It is believed this is a China-wide standard. Many provinces and municipal cities have since introduced personalized number plates with different limitations. It is generally possible to choose from several alphabetical-numerical combination and personalize some of the digits. For some provinces it is possible to have a letter occupying the last place of the combination, possibly to increase combination numbers.


New Energy vehicles license plates

On November 21, 2016, the MPS announced the New Energy vehicles license plates which have been instituted in Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Jinan, and
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provin ...
since December 1, 2016. These plates consist of a one-character provincial abbreviation, a letter indicating the city, and a six-character alphanumerical string, in which "D" ("E") means Electric car, "F" means other types of vehicles powered by New Energy. For small vehicles or Large New Energy vehicles, this letter is located in the first place or the last place, respectively. New Energy Vehicle License Plates are instituted in more than 10 cities as of 2017. Dimensions for the Chinese character remains at 45 × 90 mm as the 1992 standard, whereas numbers are reduced to thinner 43 × 90mm dimensions alongside a change in font, which is now found on 2019-standard registration plates for firetrucks as well.


List of prefixes

The following lists all licence plate prefixes in use in the People's Republic of China, divided into four sections:
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
,
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
,
autonomous regions An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...
and others.


Municipalities


Beijing

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 2 ...
is: () *(Color in Yellow)-buses *, , , , , , , , , - Urban area * - Taxis * - Suburbs *, , - Suburbs and urban area *, , - foreigner or foreign company owned vehicle * - Ministry of Public Security * - Central Guard Bureau of Beijing Garrison Military License


Chongqing

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
is: () The former division before May 18, 2017: * — Urban area **A "T" is further appended to taxis, for example "". * — Urban area **B "T" is further appended to taxis, for example "". * —
Yongchuan District Yongchuan () is a district of Chongqing, China, located by the north side of upper reach of Yangtze River, with a history of 1200 years. Yongchuan borders Sichuan province to the southwest and is away from Yuzhong District of central Chongqing a ...
,
Jiangjin Jiangjin District (), one of the districts in the southwest of Chongqing, China, lies along the upper reaches of Yangtze River, and has a history extending back more than 1500 years. The district covers 3200 square kilometres and has a population ...
,
Hechuan Hechuan () is a district in the northern part of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China, located at the meeting point of the Jialing, Fu and Qu rivers, with a history of 1,500 years. Hechuan is away from downtown Chongqing's Yuz ...
,
Tongnan County Tongnan District () is a district of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Wester ...
,
Tongliang County Tongliang District () is a district of Chongqing Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it ...
,
Bishan County Bishan () is one of the districts of Chongqing, China, with a history of over 2000 years. Bishan is west of Chenjiaping in downtown Chongqing. Formerly a county, it became a district on 6 June 2014. Administrative divisions Bishan administers ...
,
Dazu County Dazu District () is a District (China), district of Chongqing, China, bordering Sichuan province to the northwest. It is where the famous Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located. Dazu Lotus Manor is a tourist attraction with m ...
,
Qijiang County Qijiang District () is a district of Chongqing, China, bordering Guizhou province to the south. The district has an area of 2,748 km2 and a population of 1,213,770 (de facto resident population 825,500 as of 2017.) In October 2011, Qijiang C ...
,
Rongchang County Rongchang District () is a district of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "We ...
* —
Wanzhou District Wanzhou District () is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest ...
,
Liangping County Liangping District (), formerly Liangping County () and Liangshan County (), is a district in the north of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. Sports The Liangping District National Fitness Centre Stadium, which has a capacity of ...
,
Chengkou County Chengkou County () is a county in Chongqing municipality, China, and is the northernmost county-level division of Chongqing, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi and Sichuan to the north and west, respectively. To the northeast, the county borders ...
, Wushan County, Wuxi County, Zhong County,
Kaizhou District Kaizhou District (), formerly known as Kai County, Kaixian or Kaihsien () is a district under the jurisdiction of Chongqing Municipality, in southwestern China, bordering Sichuan province to the west. It has an area of 3,959 square km. As of the ...
,
Fengjie County Fengjie County () is a county of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is on the Yangtze River; located within a couple hundreds kilometers upstream from the Three Gorges Dam, it is within the dam's affected area. The county's most famous geograp ...
, Yunyang County * —
Fuling District Fuling District () is a district in central Chongqing, China. The area is known for '' zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River To ...
,
Nanchuan Nanchuan () is a district and former county of Chongqing, China, bordering Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, i ...
,
Dianjiang County Dianjiang County () is a county in the northeast of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Sichuan province to the northwest. As of 2015, it has two subdistricts, two townships, and 22 towns under its administration. History Dianjiang County ...
,
Fengdu County Fengdu County (; formerly ) is a county located in Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. The county was established as Fengdu County () during the Sui Dynasty. The name was changed to Fengdu County () during the Ming Dynasty. In 195 ...
,
Wulong County Wulong District () is a district of Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering Guizhou province to the south. Administration Climate Education There is a central elementary school in Baiyun Town. Transportation The district is served by C ...
* —
Qianjiang District Qianjiang District (), formerly Qianjiang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, is a district (formerly an autonomous county), in the southeastern part of Chongqing, China, bordering Hubei province to the east and northeast. While it is governed as a ...
,
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County Shizhu Tujia people, Tujia Autonomous County (), or Shizhu County for short, is located in southeastern Chongqing, China. It is south of the Yangtze River, and borders the Chongqing divisions of Pengshui County to the south, Fengdu County to the s ...
,
Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County (), or Xiushan County for short, is located in the southeast of Chongqing Municipality, China. It is the municipality's southernmost county-level division. * Area: * Population Population typically ...
,
Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County, or Youyang County for short () is located in southeast Chongqing Municipality, China, bordering the provinces of Hunan to the east and Guizhou to the southwest. The county spans an area of , and has a popu ...
,
Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County () is an autonomous county for the Miao and Tujia people located in southeastern Chongqing, China, bordering Guizhou province to the south and southwest and Hubei province to the northeast. It is away from ...
From May 18, 2017, Chongqing has no division for number plate prefixes, newly registed vehicles can choose any prefix among from any district and county in Chongqing.


Shanghai

The initial character on licence plates issued in Shanghai is: () *, , , , , , , , , , , — Urban area and suburbs. * — Suburbs, not allowed to enter the urban area (i.e. not allowed to travel within the Outer Ring). * —
Chongming Island Chongming, formerly known as Chungming, is an alluvial island at the mouth of the Yangtze River in eastern China covering as of 2010. Together with the islands Changxing and Hengsha, it forms Chongming District, the northernmost area of the ...
, Changxing Island,
Hengsha Island Hengsha (横沙岛, Shanghainese: ''Waan So Tau'') is a low-lying alluvial island at the mouth of the Yangtze River in eastern China. Together with the islands of Chongming and Changxing, it forms Chongming District, the northernmost area of th ...
, not allowed to leave the places above. For the third character of the license plates (with 4 digits following): * Z — New energy vehicles (except licenses begin with and ). * M, N, U to X — Taxis. * Y — Vehicles for rent, owned by car renting operators.


Tianjin

The initial character on licence plates issued in Tianjin is: () *, , , , , , , , , , , , , , — General Issues * — Taxis * — Ministry of Public Security


Provinces


Anhui

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
is: () *—
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
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Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma' ...
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Bengbu Bengbu () is a city in northern Anhui Province, China. Its population was 3,296,408 registered residents at the 2020 census. 1,968,027 lived in the built-up area made of four Bengbu urban districts and Fengyang County in Chuzhou Prefecture, larg ...
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Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu'an ...
*— Ma'anshan *—
Huaibei Huaibei () is a prefecture-level city in northern Anhui Province, China. It borders Suzhou (Anhui) to the east, Bengbu to the south, Bozhou to the west, and the provinces of Henan to the northwest and Jiangsu to the northeast. The population was ...
*— Tongling *—
Anqing Anqing (, also Nganking, formerly Hwaining, now the name of Huaining County) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Anhui province, People's Republic of China. Its population was 4,165,284 as of the 2020 census, with 804,493 living in the ...
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Huangshan Huangshan (),Bernstein, pp. 125–127. literally meaning the Yellow Mountain(s), is a mountain range in southern Anhui Province in eastern China. It was originally called “Yishan”, and it was renamed because of a legend that Emperor Xua ...
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Fuyang () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Bozhou to the northeast, Huainan to the southeast, Lu'an to the south, and the province of Henan on all other sides. Its population was 8,200,264 inhabitants at th ...
*— Suzhou *— Chuzhou *—
Lu'an Lu'an (), is a prefecture-level city in western Anhui province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northwest and Hubei to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, it had a total population of 4,393,699 inhabitants whom 1,752,537 li ...
*— Xuancheng *—former
Chaohu Chaohu () is a county-level city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hefei. Situated on the northeast and southeast shores of Lake Chao, from which the city was named, Cha ...
(prefecture-level, now merged into Hefei) *— Chizhou *—
Bozhou Bozhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Anhui province, China. It borders Huaibei to the northeast, Bengbu to the southeast, Huainan to the south, Fuyang to the southwest, and Henan to the north. Its population was 4,996,844 at th ...


Fujian

The initial character on licence plates issued in Fujian is: () *— Fuzhou(福州) *—
Putian Putian or Putien (, Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Xinghua or Hing Hwa (), is a prefecture-level city in eastern Fujian province, China. It borders Fuzhou City to the n ...
*— Quanzhou *—
Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
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Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...
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Longyan Longyan (; Hakka Chinese, Hakka: ''Liùng-ngàm''; Longyan dialect: ''Lengngia'') is a prefecture-level city in south-western Fujian, Fujian Province, China, bordering Guangdong to the south and Jiangxi to the west. History In 736 AD, (the Tan ...
*— Sanming *— Nanping *—
Ningde Ningde (; Foochow Romanized: Nìng-dáik), also known as Mindong (; Foochow Romanized: Mìng-dĕ̤ng; lit. East of Fujian), is a prefecture-level city located along the northeastern coast of Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders ...
* — Provincial-level agencies,
Pingtan Island Pingtan Island or Haitan Island is an island of Fuzhou off the east coast of mainland Asia in Pingtan County, Fujian Province, China (PRC), south of the complex estuary of the Min River. It is the largest island in Fujian and the fifth-largest ...
* — Police vehicles


Gansu

The initial character on licence plates issued in Gansu is: () *—
Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. Hi ...
*— Jiayuguan *—
Jinchang Jinchang () is a prefecture-level city in the centre of Gansu province, People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north. Geography Jinchang City is located in central Gansu province, west of the Yellow River, north of the Qi ...
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Baiyin Baiyin () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Gansu province, People's Republic of China. Established in the 1950s as a base for mining non-ferrous metals, its mines are becoming exhausted in recent decades, requiring the city to reinvent ...
*— Tianshui *—
Jiuquan Jiuquan, formerly known as Suzhou, is a prefecture-level city in the northwesternmost part of Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It is more than wide from east to west, occupying , although its built-up area is mostly located in i ...
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Zhangye Zhangye (), formerly romanized as Changyeh or known as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Gansu Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Inner Mongolia on the north and Qinghai on the south. Its central district is Ga ...
*— Wuwei *— Dingxi *—
Longnan Longnan () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Gansu province in China. It borders Sichuan on its south and Shaanxi on its east. As of the 2020 Chinese census, the population of the prefecture-level city was 2,855,555. Geography and ...
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Pingliang Pingliang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the south and east and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to the north. The city was established in 376 AD. It has a residential population of 2, ...
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Qingyang Qingyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Gansu province, China. Geography and climate Qingyang is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Gansu and is thus sometimes referred to as "Longdong" (). It forms an administrative penins ...
*— Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture *— Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture


Guangdong

The initial character on licence plates issued in Guangdong is: () *— Guangzhou (— Panyu) *—
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provin ...
*— Zhuhai *— Shantou *— Foshan (—
Gaoming Gaoming District, formerly romanized as Koming, is an urban district of Foshan, Guangdong, in the People's Republic of China. Gaoming is located west of downtown Foshan and had a population of 420,044 during the 2010 census. It covers an ar ...
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Sanshui Sanshui District, formerly romanized as Samshui, is an urban district of the prefecture-level city of Foshan in Guangdong province, China. It had a population of 622,645 as of the 2010 census. It is known for the " Samsui women", emigrants who l ...
) *—
Shaoguan Shaoguan (; Hakka: Seukoan) is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong Province ( Yuebei), South China, bordering Hunan to the northwest and Jiangxi to the northeast. It is home to the mummified remains of the sixth Zen Buddhist patriar ...
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Zhanjiang Zhanjiang (), historically spelled Tsamkong, is a prefecture-level city at the southwestern end of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, facing Haikou city to the south. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,981,236 (6,994,83 ...
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Zhaoqing Zhaoqing (), alternately romanized as Shiuhing, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province, China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,113,594, with 1,553,109 living in the built-up (or metro) area made of Duanzhou, Dinghu ...
(—
Sihui Sihui (), formerly romanized as Szewui, is a county-level city in the west of the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city of Zhaoqing. Sihui's population is 542,873 in 201 ...
) *—
Jiangmen Jiangmen (), alternately romanized in Cantonese as Kongmoon, is a prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province in southern China. As of the 2020 census, its three urban districts, plus Heshan City being conurbated, with 2,657,662 inhabitant ...
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Maoming Maoming, alternately romanized as Mowming, is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern Guangdong province, China. Facing the South China Sea to the city's south, Maoming city borders Zhanjiang to the west, Yangjiang to the east, and Y ...
*— Huizhou *—
Meizhou Meizhou (, Hakka Chinese: Mòichû) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, China. It has an area of , and a population of 3,873,239 million as of the 2020 census. It comprises Meijiang District, Meixian District, Xingning Cit ...
*— Shanwei *—
Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
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Heyuan Héyuán (, Hakka:Fò-Ngiàn) is a prefecture-level city of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,837,686 whom 1,051,993 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yuancheng ur ...
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Yangjiang Yangjiang (, ), alternately romanized as Yeungkong, is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Guangdong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Maoming to the west, Yunfu to the north, Jiangmen to the east, and looks out to the ...
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Qingyuan Qingyuan, formerly romanized as Tsingyun, is a prefecture-level city in northern Guangdong province, China, on the banks of the Bei or North River. During the 2020 census, its total population was 3,969,473, out of whom 1,738,424 lived in the ...
*— Dongguan *— Zhongshan *— Chaozhou *—
Jieyang Jieyang () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong Province (Yuedong), People's Republic of China, part of the Chaoshan region whose people speak Chaoshan Min distinct from neighbouring Yue speakers. It is historically important as the ...
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Yunfu Yunfu (), formerly romanized as Wanfow, and historically known as Dong'an (), which was formerly romanized as Tong On, from 1578 to 1913, is a prefecture-level city in western Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Zhaoqin ...
*— Shunde (District of Foshan, discontinued issuing from February 2018) *—
Nanhai Nanhai () may refer to: *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea, one of the Four Seas *Nanhai Commandery, the former Chinese administration over Liangguang *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea Islands *The '' Nanhai I ...
(District of Foshan, discontinued issuing from February 2018) *— Hong Kong & Macau: required only for vehicles frequently travelling to the mainland. Hong Kong and Macau issue registration plates on their own. The registration number has 4 alphanumerics, suffixed with either (for Hong Kong) or (for Macau).


Guizhou

The initial character on licence plates issued in Guizhou is: () *—
Guiyang Guiyang (; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, historically rendered as Kweiyang, is the capital of Guizhou province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is located in the center of the province, situated on the eas ...
*— Liupanshui *— Zunyi *—
Tongren Tongren () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, located within a tobacco planting and crop agricultural area. Tongren was known as Tongren Prefecture () until November 2011, when it was converted into ...
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Qianxinan Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (; Buyei: ''Qianfxiynanf Buxqyaix Buxyeeuz Ziqziqzouy''; Hmu: ''Qeef Xib Naif Dol Yat Dol Hmub Zid Zid Zeb''), is an autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, bordering G ...
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Bijie Bijie () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Guizhou Province, China, bordering Sichuan to the north and Yunnan to the west. The Daotianhe Reservoir, located to the north of the town was commissioned in 1965 with a rated annual capacity ...
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Anshun Anshun () is a prefecture-level city located in southwestern Guizhou province, southwest China, near the Huangguoshu Waterfall, the tallest in China. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 2,297,339. The city proper had a population of 7 ...
*— Qiandonnan *—
Qiannan Qiannan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (; Buyei: ''Qianfnanf Buxqyaix Buxyeeuz ziqziqzouy''; Hmu: ''Qeef Naif Dol Yat Dol Hmub Zid Zid Zeb'') is an autonomous prefecture of Guizhou province, People's Republic of China, bordering Guangxi to ...


Hainan

The initial character on licence plates issued in Hainan is: () *—
Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the H ...
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Sanya Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China. According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, livi ...
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Qionghai Qionghai, or in local Hainanese dialect as Kheng Hai, is one of the seven county-level cities of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Qionghai refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. Within this area ...
,
Wenchang Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of govern ...
,
Wanning Wanning or in local Hainanese dialect as Ban Ning is a county-level city in the southeast of Hainan Province, China. Although called a "city", Wanning refers to both the county seat and to the entire county as a whole. The county-wide area has ...
, Ding'an, Tunchang, Chengmai, Lingao *— Wuzhishan, Dongfang, Baisha,
Changjiang The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
, Ledong, Lingshui, Baoting,
Qiongzhong Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County is an autonomous county in Hainan, China. It is one of 6 autonomous counties of the upper highlands of Hainan. Its postal code is 572900, and in 1999 its population was 196,581 people, largely made up of t ...
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Yangpu Economic Development Zone Yángpǔ Economic Development Zone () is an area of the Yangpu Peninsula, Hainan province, China. This zone, covering , p 67 contains a port, oil refinery, petroleum commercial reserve base, power station, and the town of Yangpu. The area, Hain ...
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Danzhou Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and ur ...


Hebei

The initial character on licence plates issued in Hebei is: () *— Shijiazhuang **A "Z" is further appended to taxis, for example "". *— Tangshan **B "T" is further appended to taxis, for example "". *— Qinhuangdao *— Handan *—
Xingtai Xingtai (), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 county-level cities and 12 counties. At the 2020 censu ...
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Baoding Baoding (), formerly known as Baozhou and Qingyuan, is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2010 census, Baoding City had 11,194,382 inhabitants out of which 2,176,857 lived in the b ...
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Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (; ; ) also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the sout ...
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Chengde Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, situated about 225 km northeast of Beijing. It is best known as the site of the Mountain Resort, a vast imperial garden and palace formerly used by ...
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Cangzhou Cangzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. At the 2020 census, Cangzhou's built-up (''or metro'') area made of Yunhe, Xinhua districts and Cang County largely being conurbated had a populatio ...
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Langfang Langfang () is a prefecture-level city of Hebei Province, which was known as Tianjin Prefecture until 1973. It was renamed Langfang Prefecture after Tianjin became a municipality and finally upgraded into a prefecture-level city in 1988. Lang ...
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Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...


Heilongjiang

The initial character on licence plates issued in Heilongjiang is: () *, — Harbin *— Qiqihar *—
Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu: ''Mudan bira''), alternately romanized as Mutankiang, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast part of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. It was called ''Botankou'' under Japanese occupation. It serves as ...
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Jiamusi Jiamusi (Manchu: ; formerly Kiamusze) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Located along the middle and lower reaches of the Songhua River, it faces Russia's Khabarovsk Krai across the Ussuri ...
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Daqing Daqing (; alternately romanized as Taching) is a prefecture-level city in the west of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The name literally means "Great Celebration". Daqing is known as the "Oil Capital of China" and has experi ...
*— Yichun *— Jixi *—
Hegang Hegang (, also known as Heli and Xingshan), is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range, facing Jiamusi across the Songhua River to the s ...
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Shuangyashan Shuangyashan () is a coal mining prefecture-level city located in the eastern part Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, bordering Russia's Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais to the east. The city's name means a pair-of-ducks mountains a ...
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Qitaihe Qitaihe () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, China. Covering an area , it is geographically the smallest prefecture-level division of the province. Qitaihe also has the second smallest population of the cities in Heil ...
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Suihua Suihua () is a prefecture-level city in west-central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, adjacent to Yichun to the east, Harbin, the provincial capital, to the south, Daqing to the west and Heihe to the north. It has 3,756,167 inha ...
*— Heihe *—Official vehicles *— Daxing'anling Prefecture *—Nongken system


Henan

The initial character on licence plates issued in Henan is: () *, — Zhengzhou *—
Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nor ...
*— Luoyang *— Pingdingshan *—
Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It ha ...
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Hebi Hebi ( ; postal: Hopi) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. Situated in mountainous terrain at the edge of the Shanxi plateau, Hebi is about south of Anyang, northeast of Xinxiang and north of Kaifeng. As of the 20 ...
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Xinxiang Xinxiang ( ; postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its southeast, Hebi and Anyang to its north, Jiaozuo to its west, and t ...
*— Jiaozuo *—
Puyang Puyang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern shore of the Yellow River, it borders Anyang in the west, Xinxiang in the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Hebei ...
*— Xuchang *— Luohe *— Sanmenxia *—
Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respective ...
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Zhoukou Zhoukou (; postal: Chowkow) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Henan province, China. It borders Zhumadian to the southwest, Xuchang and Luohe to the west, Kaifeng to the northwest, Shangqiu to the northeast, and the province of Anhui on all ...
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Zhumadian Zhumadian (; postal: Chumatien) is a prefecture-level city in southern Henan province, China. It borders Xinyang to the south, Nanyang to the west, Pingdingshan to the northwest, Luohe to the north, Zhoukou to the northeast, and the province of ...
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Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...
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Xinyang Xinyang (; postal: Sinyang) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China, the southernmost administrative division in the province. Its total population was 6,234,401 according to the 2020 census. As of ...
*— Jiyuan


Hubei

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
is: () *—
Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
** — Taxis in Wuhan *— Huangshi *—
Shiyan Shiyan () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei, China, bordering Henan to the northeast, Chongqing to the southwest, and Shaanxi to the north and west. At the 2020 census, its population was 3,209,004 of whom 1,033,407 lived in the ...
** — Taxis in Shiyan *— Jingzhou *— Yichang *—
Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
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Ezhou Ezhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Hubei Province, China. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 1,079,353, of which 695,697 lived in the core Echeng District. The Ezhou - Huanggang built-up (''or metro'') area was home t ...
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Jingmen Jingmen () is a prefecture-level city in central Hubei province, People's Republic of China. Jingmen is within an area where cotton and oil crops are planted. The population of the prefecture is 2,873,687 (2010 population census). The urban area ...
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Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It borde ...
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Xiaogan Xiaogan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hubei province, People's Republic of China, some northwest of the provincial capital of Wuhan. According to the 2020 census, its population totaled 4,270,371, of whom 988,479 lived in the buil ...
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Xianning Xianning () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the southeast and Hunan to the southwest. It is known as the "City of Osmanthus". Geography and climate Xianning is located i ...
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Xiantao Xiantao () is a sub-prefecture-level city in the east of Hubei province, China. Located at the Jianghan Plain in the middle of Hubei province and spanning 112°55' – 113°49' east longitude and 30°04' – 30°32' north latitude, Xiantao City c ...
*— Qianjiang *—
Shennongjia Shennongjia Forestry District () is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in northwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies in western Hubei, and, as of ...
*— Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture *—
Tianmen Tianmen () is a sub-prefecture-level city (sometimes considered a county-level city) in central Hubei Province, China. It is on the Jianghan Plain, on the west side of Wuhan (the biggest city of Central China, as well as the capital of Hubei) ...
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Suizhou Suizhou (), formerly Sui County (), is a prefecture-level city in northern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north and east. Etymology The Sui in Suizhou is derived from the ancient 'Suishizu' () . A ...


Hunan

The initial character on licence plates issued in Hunan is: () *—
Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and th ...
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Zhuzhou Zhuzhou (, ), formerly Jianning (建宁), is a prefecture-level city of Hunan Province, China, straddling the Xiang River southeast of the provincial capital, Changsha, and bordering Jiangxi province to the east. It is part of the " Greater Chan ...
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Xiangtan Xiangtan () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hunan province, south-central China. The hometowns of several founding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including Chairman Mao Zedong, President Liu Shaoqi, and Marshal Peng Dehuai, a ...
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Hengyang Hengyang (; ) is the second largest city of Hunan Province, China. It straddles the Xiang River about south of the provincial capital of Changsha. As of the 2020 Chinese census, Its total population was 6,645,243 inhabitants, whom 1,290,715 l ...
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Shaoyang Shaoyang (), formerly named Baoqing (Paoking) (), is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Hunan province, China, bordering Guangxi to the south. It has a history of 2500 years and remains an important commercial and transportation city in Hu ...
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Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of ...
*— Zhangjiajie *—
Yiyang Yiyang () is a prefecture-level city on the Zi River in Hunan province, China, straddling Lake Dongting and bordering Hubei to the north. According to the 2010 Census, Yiyang has a population of 4,313,084 inhabitants residing in an area of . T ...
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Changde Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongting ...
*— Loudi *—
Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...
*— Yongzhou *—
Huaihua Huaihua () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Hunan province, China. It covers and is bordered by Xiangxi to the northwest, Zhangjiajie and Changde to the north, Yiyang, Loudi and Shaoyang to the east, Guilin and Liuzhou of Guangxi ...
*—Provincial-level agencies (phased out in 2014) *—
Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture (; Tujia: Xianxxix bifzivkar befkar zifzifzoux; Miao: Xangdxid tutjadcul maolcul zibzhibzhoud) is an autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China. It is located in northwestern Hunan provi ...


Jiangsu

The initial character on licence plates issued in Jiangsu is: () *— Nanjing *— Wuxi *—
Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
*—
Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...
*, — Suzhou *— Nantong *— Lianyungang *— Huai'an *— Yancheng *— Yangzhou *— Zhenjiang *— Taizhou *— Suqian


Jiangxi

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north into ...
is: () *— Nanchang *—
Ganzhou Ganzhou (), alternately romanized as Kanchow, is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jiangxi province, China, bordering Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, and Hunan to the west. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong District. Hist ...
*— Yichun *— Ji'an *— Shangrao *— Fuzhou(抚州) *—
Jiujiang Jiujiang (), formerly transliterated Kiukiang or Kew Keang, is a prefecture-level city located on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. It is the second-largest prefecture-level cit ...
*—
Jingdezhen Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, in northeastern Jiangxi province, with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at leas ...
*—
Pingxiang Pingxiang () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in western Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Pingxiang is a city situated near the border of Jiangxi with Hunan province. Approximately 110 kilometer ...
*—
Xinyu Xinyu (, formerly ), is a prefecture-level city in west-central Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. History Geography Xinyu has an area of . It has a four-season, monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate. It can be very hot and rai ...
*—
Yingtan Yingtan () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Fujian to the southeast. Its location near the trisection of Jiangxi, Fujian, and Zhejiang has made it a strategically important city for ...
*—Nanchang extra


Jilin

The initial character on licence plates issued in Jilin is: () *—
Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
*— Jilin City *— Siping *—
Liaoyuan Liaoyuan () is a prefecture-level city in Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It is bounded on the west and south by Tieling of Liaoning province, west and north by Siping, and east by Tonghua and Jilin City. Liaoyuan lies some south of C ...
*—
Tonghua Tonghua () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It borders North Korea's Chagang Province to the south and southeast, Baishan to the east, Jilin City to the north, Liaoyuan to the northwest, ...
*—
Baishan Baishan (, ko, 백산시) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jilin province, in the Dongbei (northeastern) part of China. "" literally means "White Mountain", and is named after Changbai Mountain (, also known as Paektu Mountain (Kore ...
*—
Baicheng Baicheng () is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Jilin province, People's Republic of China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Heilongjiang to the east and northeast. At the 2010 census, 2,033,058 people live ...
*— Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture *—
Songyuan Songyuan () is a prefecture-level city in west-central Jilin province, China. History Even though the present city of Songyuan is predominantly modern in appearance, the area has a long history dating back to the Neolithic age. The city w ...
*—Changbai Mountain Protection Development Zone


Liaoning

The initial character on licence plates issued in Liaoning is: () *— Shenyang *— Dalian **A "T" is further appended to taxis, for example "". *—
Anshan Anshan () is an inland prefecture-level city in central-southeast Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, about south of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, it was Liaoning's third most populous city with a population ...
*— Fushun *—
Benxi Benxi (, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, south-southeast of the provincial capital Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010) whom 809,655 ...
*—
Dandong Dandong (), formerly known as Andong, is a coastal prefecture-level city in southeastern Liaoning province, in the northeastern region of People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese border city, facing Sinuiju, North Korea across the ...
*—
Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chi ...
*— Yingkou *—
Fuxin Fuxin () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, bordering the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to the north. As of the 2020 census, its decreasing total population was 1,647,280 inhabitants (1, ...
*— Liaoyang *— Panjin *— Tieling *— Chaoyang *—Police Vehicles (phased out in 2014) *— Huludao


Qinghai

The initial character on licence plates issued in
Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
is: () *— Xining ** — Taxis in Xining *—
Haidong Haidong (; Wylie: Haitung) is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the (Qinghai) Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture () into a prefecture-level city. Haido ...
*— Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture *—
Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture of Eastern Qinghai, China, bordering Gansu to the east. The prefecture has area of and its seat is in Tongren County. Demographics According to the 2000 census, Huangnan ...
*—
Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, formerly known as Tsolho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ), is an autonomous prefecture of Northeastern Qinghai Province in Western China. The prefecture has an area of and its seat is located in Gonghe C ...
*—
Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Golog (Golok or Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture occupying the southeastern corner of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China. The prefecture has an area of and its seat is located in Maqên County. Du ...
*— Gyêgu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture *—
Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; mn, ᠬᠠᠶᠢᠰᠢ ᠶᠢᠨ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ ᠲᠥᠪᠡᠳ ᠦᠨᠳᠦᠰᠦᠲᠡᠨ ᠦ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠭᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠵᠧᠦ; bo, མཚོ་ནུབ་� ...


Shaanxi

The initial character on licence plates issued in Shaanxi is: () *— Xi'an ** — Taxis in Xi'an ** — Taxis in Xi'an ** — Provincial-level agencies *—
Tongchuan Tongchuan () is a prefecture-level city located in central Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China on the southern fringe of the Loess Plateau that defines the northern half of the province (Shanbei) and the northern reaches of the Guan ...
*—
Baoji () is a prefecture-level city in western Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China. Since the early 1990s, Baoji has been the second largest city in Shaanxi. Geography The prefecture-level city of Baoji had a population of 3,321,853 accor ...
*— Xianyang *—
Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of Sh ...
*—
Hanzhong Hanzhong (; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gansu to the west. The founder of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang, was once enfeoffed as th ...
*—
Ankang Ankang () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the southwest. History The settl ...
*—
Shangluo Shangluo () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shaanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan to the northeast and Hubei to the southeast. Part of the Shannan region of the province, it is located in the eastern part of th ...
*— Yan'an *— Yulin *—Xi'an extra (approved in April 2020) * — Yangling Gaoxin Agricultural Zone


Shandong

The initial character on licence plates issued in Shandong is: () *— Jinan *— Qingdao *— Zibo *—
Zaozhuang Zaozhuang () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Since January 2019 (after the Laiwu prefecture got incorporated into Jinan prefecture), the smallest prefecture-level city in the province, it b ...
*—
Dongying Dongying (), a prefecture-level city, lies on the northern (Bohai Sea) coast of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. As of the 2020 census, 2,193,518 people resided within its administrative area of and 1,188,656 in the built-up ar ...
*—
Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
*—
Weifang Weifang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao to the east, and looks out to ...
*—
Jining Jining () is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jinin ...
*— Tai'an *—
Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popul ...
*—
Rizhao Rizhao (), alternatively romanized as Jihchao, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Shandong province, China. It is situated on the coastline along the Yellow Sea, and features a major seaport. It borders Qingdao to the northeast, Weifang ...
*—
Binzhou Binzhou (, ), formerly Putai, is a prefecture-level city in northern Shandong Province in the People's Republic of China. The city proper sits on the northern bank of the Yellow River, while its administrative area straddles both sides of its ...
*—
Dezhou Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei t ...
*—Police vehicles (phased out in 2019) *—
Liaocheng Liaocheng (), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the west. The Grand ...
*— Linyi *—
Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...
*—former Laiwu (prefecture-level, now merged into Jinan) *—Qingdao Extra (for taxis, tour buses, etc.) *—Weifang Extra *—Provincial-level agencies (phased out in 2019) *—Yantai Extra


Shanxi

The initial character on licence plates issued in Shanxi is: () *—
Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...
*—
Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 cen ...
*—
Yangquan Yangquan ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the east of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei province to the east. Situated at the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau and the west side of the Taihang Mountains, known as "Ri ...
*—
Changzhi Changzhi () is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the northeast and east, respectively. Historically, the city was one of the 36 administrative areas (see Administra ...
*—
Jincheng Jincheng is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the south and southeast. It is an industrial city in an area where coal mining is an important industry. The entire city has a populat ...
*—
Shuozhou Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about and, in 2010, a popu ...
*—
Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwes ...
*—
Lüliang Lüliang or Lyuliang () is a prefecture-level city in the west of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shaanxi province across the Yellow River to the west, Jinzhong and the provincial capital of Taiyuan to the east, Linfen to ...
*— Jinzhong *— Linfen *—
Yuncheng Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...


Sichuan

The initial character on licence plates issued in Sichuan is: () *—
Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provi ...
*— Mianyang (former
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...
, sub-provincial city) *—
Zigong Zigong (, ), formed by the merger of the two former towns of Ziliujing (Tzuliuching, literally "self-flow well") and Gongjing (Kungching, literally "offering well"), is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan, southwestern China. Demographics Accord ...
*—
Panzhihua Panzhihua (), formerly Dukou (), is a prefecture-level city located in the far south of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, at the confluence of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers. It has an administrative area of , and a population at the 2 ...
*—
Luzhou Luzhou (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Luzhou dialect: ), formerly transliterated as Lu-chou or Luchow, is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, China. The city, named Jiangyang until the Southern and Northern Dyna ...
*—
Deyang Deyang () is a prefecture-level city of Sichuan province, China. Deyang is a largely industrial city, with companies such as China National Erzhong Group and Dongfang Electric having major operations there. The city is rich in history, with th ...
*—Chengdu extra (former Mianyang) *—
Guangyuan Guangyuan () is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest. The city has a population of 2,305,657 as of the 2020 census. Located roughly between the provin ...
*—
Suining Suining (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Xu4nin2; Sichuanese pronunciation: ; ) is a prefecture-level city of eastern Sichuan province in Southwest China. In 2002, Suining had a population of 658,798. Geography and climate Suining is located in the cent ...
*—
Neijiang Neijiang (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nui4jiang1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China. It is located on the Tuo River The Tuo River (; pinyin: Tuó Jiāng) is -lon ...
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Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, abo ...
*— Ziyang (former Wanxian, now merged into Chongqing) *—former
Fuling Fuling District () is a district in central Chongqing, China. The area is known for ''zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River Town ...
(now merged into Chongqing) *—issued by Vehicle Management Office of Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department *—former Qianjiang Prefecture (now merged into Chongqing) *—
Yibin Yibin (; Sichuanese Pinyin: nyi2bin1; Sichuanese pronunciation: ) is a prefecture-level city in the southeastern part of Sichuan province, China, located at the junction of the Min and Yangtze Rivers. Its population was 4,588,804 inhabitants, a ...
*—
Nanchong Nanchong (; Sichuanese: lan2cong1) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, with an area of . At the 2020 census it was home to 5,607,565 people, of whom 1,936,534 lived in the built-up (or 'metro') area made of t ...
*—
Dazhou Dazhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast corner of Sichuan province, China, bordering Shaanxi to the north and Chongqing to the east and south. As of 2020 census, Dazhou was home to 5,385,422 inhabitants whom 1,850,869 lived in ...
*— Ya'an *— Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture *— Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture *—
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Liangshan (; Yi: ''Niep Sha'', pronounced ), officially the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture occupying much of the southern extremity of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China; its seat is Xichang. Liangsha ...
*—
Guang'an Guang'an () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Sichuan province. It is most famous as the birthplace of China's former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Guang'an lies between the hills of central Sichuan and the gorges area of the east.Guang'an ...
*—
Bazhong Bazhong () is a prefecture-level city in north-eastern Sichuan province, China. Its population was 2,712,894 at the 2020 census whom 1,064,766 lived in Bazhou and Enyang urban districts. History Bazhong became a prefecture-level city in 1993. Its ...
*—
Meishan Meishan (; Sichuanese Pinyin: Mi2san1; local pronunciation: ; ), formerly known as Meizhou () or Qingzhou (), is a prefecture-level city with 2,955,219 inhabitants as of 2020 census whom 1,232,648 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of ...


Yunnan

The initial character on licence plates issued in Yunnan is: () *— Kunming *—former
Dongchuan Dongchuan District is one of seven districts of the prefecture-level city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. The district was approved to form from the former ''Dongchuan City'' by the State Council on Decemb ...
(prefecture-level, now merged into Kunming) *—
Zhaotong Zhaotong () is a prefecture-level city located in the northeast corner of Yunnan province, China, bordering the provinces of Guizhou to the south and southeast and Sichuan to the northeast, north, and west. History Zhaotong has historic and ...
*—
Qujing Qujing () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southeast; thus, it was called "Key between Yunnan and Guizhou" () and "Throat of Yu ...
*—
Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture (; Chuxiong Yi script: , IPA: ; Yi script: ꊉꇑꆑꌠꑼꂰ; Yi Pinyin: wop lup nut su yuop mi) is an autonomous prefecture located in central Yunnan Province, China. Chuxiong has an area of . The capital of ...
*—
Yuxi Yuxi () is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Yunnan province of the People's Republic of China. The administrative center of Yuxi is Hongta District. Yuxi is approximately south of Kunming. Geography Yuxi is located in the center ...
**A "T" is further appended to taxis, for example "". *— Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture *— Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture *— Pu'er *—
Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင်� ...
*—
Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (; Bai: ) is an autonomous prefecture Autonomous prefectures () are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, existing at the prefectural level, with either ethnic minorities forming over 50% o ...
*— Baoshan *—
Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China, and is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of the province, bordering Baoshan to the east and Burma's Kachin State to the we ...
*—
Lijiang Lijiang (), also known as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng ...
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Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture Nùjiāng Lisu Autonomous Prefecture () is an autonomous prefecture of western/northwestern Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. Name It is named after the Nujiang river (the longest undammed river in Southeast Asia) and the Lisu ethnic ...
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Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, also known as Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (; ) is an autonomous prefecture in Northwestern Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of . Its capital, which is also the largest city in the prefecture, ...
*—
Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. History Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the Shang dynasty. On December 26, 2003, the state council approved the cance ...


Zhejiang

The initial character on licence plates issued in Zhejiang is: () *— Hangzhou *—
Ningbo Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
*—
Wenzhou Wenzhou (pronounced ; Wenzhounese: Yuziou �y33–11 tɕiɤu33–32 ), historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People's Republic of China. Wenzhou is located at the extreme south east o ...
*— Shaoxing *— Huzhou *— Jiaxing *— Jinhua *—
Quzhou Quzhou is a prefecture-level city in western Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the upper course of the Qiantang River, it borders Hangzhou to the north, Jinhua to the east, Lishui to the southeast, and the provinces of F ...
*— Taizhou *— Lishui *— Zhoushan * — Black license plates belonging to cars registered to foreign enterprises


Autonomous regions


Guangxi

The initial character on licence plates issued in Guangxi is: () *— Nanning *— Liuzhou *—
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; postal map romanization, alternatively romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on th ...
*—
Wuzhou Wuzhou (, postal: Wuchow; za, Ngouzcouh / Ŋouƨcouƅ), formerly Ngchow, is a prefecture-level city in the east of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Wuzhou is located in eastern Guangxi border ...
*—
Beihai Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internati ...
*—
Chongzuo Chongzuo (; za, Cungzcoj) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region near the Sino-Vietnamese border. It is home to one of China's largest Zhuang populations. Geography and climate Chongzuo is located in sou ...
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Laibin Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. History Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more t ...
*—
Guilin Guilin (Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; postal map romanization, alternatively romanization of Chinese, romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on th ...
*—
Hezhou Hezhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Geography and climate Hezhou is located in northeastern Guangxi. It borders Hunan to the north and Guangdong to the east. ...
*— Yulin *— Baise *—
Hechi Hechi () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, bordering Guizhou to the north. In June 2002 it gained city status. Geography and climate Hechi is located in northwestern ...
*— Qinzhou *— Fangchenggang *— Guigang


Inner Mongolia

The initial character on licence plates issued in Inner Mongolia is: () *—
Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...
*—
Baotou Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is ...
*—
Wuhai Wuhai (; mn, ''Üqai qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian cyrillic.Үхай хот) is a prefecture-level city and regional center in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous entities of China, Autonomous Region, China, and is by area the small ...
*—
Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to t ...
*— Hulunbuir *—
Hinggan League The Hinggan League (; mn, tr. ''Hinggan Aimag'', Mongol Cyrillic: Хянган аймаг) is a prefecture-level subdivision of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It borders Hulun Buir to the nort ...
*— Tongliao *— Xilin Gol League *—
Ulaan Chab Ulanqab or Ulan Chab (; mn, ''Ulaɣančab qota''; Mongolian cyrillic.Улаанцав хот) is a region administered as a prefecture-level city in south-central Inner Mongolia, China. Its administrative centre is in Jining District, which ...
*— Ordos *—
Bayan Nur Bayannur or Bayannao'er (; mn, ''Bayannaɣur qota'', Mongolian Cyrillic Баяннуур хот) is a prefecture-level city in western Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. Until 1 December 2003, the area was called Bayannur League. ...
*—
Alxa League Alxa League or Ālāshàn League (; mn, , Mongolian Cyrillic. Алшаа аймаг) is one of 12 prefecture level divisions and 3 extant leagues of Inner Mongolia. The league borders Mongolia to the north, Bayan Nur to the northeast, Wuh ...


Ningxia

The initial character on licence plates issued in Ningxia is: () *—
Yinchuan Yinchuan (, ; ) is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, and was the capital of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty. It has an area of and a total population of 2,859,074 according to the 2020 Chinese census, and its built ...
*—
Shizuishan Shizuishan, formerly Shizuizi, is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is the northernmost prefecture in Ningxia and the second most populous, after the regional capital Yinchuan, bo ...
*— Wuzhong *—
Guyuan (), formerly known as Xihaigu (, Xiao'erjing: قُ‌يُوًا شِ), is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It occupies the southernmost section of the region, bordering Gansu provi ...
*— Zhongwei


Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Region

Initial character of licence plates used in Xizang Tibetan Autonomous Region is: () *— Lhasa *—
Qamdo Chamdo, officially Qamdo () and also known in Chinese as Changdu, is a prefecture-level city in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Its seat is the town of Chengguan in Karuo District. Chamdo is Tibet's third largest city ...
*— Shannan *—
Xigazê Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histor ...
*—
Naqu Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; ; ) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, ...
*— Ngari Prefecture *—
Nyingchi Nyingchi (), also known as Linzhi and as Nyingtri, is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi is Bayi District. Nyingchi is the location of Buchu Monastery. Economy ...


Xinjiang

The initial character on licence plates issued in Xinjiang is: () *—
Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
*—
Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture ( zh, s=昌吉回族自治州; ug, سانجى خۇيزۇ ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى) is an autonomous prefecture for Hui people in the middle north of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Western China. The ...
*— Shihezi *— Kuitun *—
Börtala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Bortala ( mn, Бортал, Mountain:''brown steppe'', ) is an autonomous prefecture for Mongol people in the northern middle of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Western China. It has an area of . Bole is its capital. "Boro tala" comes from t ...
*— Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture *—
Qoqek TachengThe official spelling according to (), as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Mongolian as Qoqak, is a county-level city (1994 est. pop. 56,400) and the administrative seat of Tacheng Prefecture, in northern Ili Kazakh ...
*— Altay *—
Karamay Karamay is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The name of the city comes from the Uyghur language and means "black oil", referring to the oil fields near the city. Karamay ...
*— Turpan *—
Hami Hami (Kumul) is a prefecture-level city in Eastern Xinjiang, China. It is well known as the home of sweet Hami melons. In early 2016, the former Hami county-level city was merged with Hami Prefecture to form the Hami prefecture-level city with ...
*—
Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Bayingolin (; often abbreviated to Bayingol; also as Bayinguoleng) is an autonomous prefecture for Mongol people in the southeast of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Western China. It borders Gansu to the east, Qinghai to the southeast and ...
*—
Aksu Prefecture Aksu PrefectureThe official spelling according to is located in mid-Western Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and 2.37 million inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 535,657 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made up of ...
*—
Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture Kizilsu (also as Kezilesu; ; ug, قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى; Kyrgyz: , , , ) is an autonomous prefecture of Kyrgyz people in the west of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, bordering with Kyrgyzstan and T ...
*— Kashgar *— Hotan *— Kunyu


See also

*
Vehicle registration plates of Hong Kong Vehicle registration plates in Hong Kong are managed by the Transport Department of Hong Kong. The physical number plates are not provided by the government but are made to order by garages. The vehicle registration system in Hong Kong is inde ...
*
Vehicle registration plates of Macau In Macau, vehicle registration marks have been issued by the Transport Bureau since 2008. The bureau does not provide the registration plates themselves; these are made by garages and vehicle accessory shops at the owners' request. Overview ...


References


External links

* Scanned images o
GA36-2007
(License plate of motor vehicle of China) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vehicle Registration Plates Of China China
License plates A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...
China transport-related lists Registration plates