What Do Chinese License Plates Look Like

Wondering why you should care about Chinese car license plates as a Mandarin learner? If you don’t know what Chinese license plates look like, this may not immediately strike you as the most thrilling topic. If you have been out on the Chinese roads and sufficiently attentive, however, you may have noticed that license plates , 车牌 (chēpái), in China actually pack a lot of information! Chinese license plates use a unique system of color, character, and number combinations to denote all the key information about a vehicle. By familiarising with this system, you can get surprising amounts of insight into not just any given vehicle and its owner – but also China’s geography, road traffic policies, and even cultural beliefs, at large. 

This blog post is your guide to everything about Chinese license plates: from how to interpret the meanings of their different components and colors, to the steps for getting one yourself. And, as a bonus, also an overview of some China-specific license plate regulations, restrictions, and cultural values you may not have been aware of! 

What Does a Standard Chinese License Plate Look Like? 

A standard Chinese license plate consists of one Chinese character, followed by a Latin alphabet letter, and then a series of five numbers or letters, like this: 

Let’s break it down: 

• The first character (e.g., 京, 沪, 粤) is a Chinese character representing the province or municipality. 

• The second character, a Latin alphabet letter (e.g., A, B, C), represents a city or district within that province. 

• The remaining five characters, a randomized or customized combination of letters and/or numbers, are the vehicle’s unique identifier. (May differ for some special plates may). 

Major Chinese Provincial Characters 

Below is a table of the characters used to denote some major provinces and municipalities in China. As a Mandarin learner, it is worth familiarizing with these abbreviations as they are often used in other contexts as well – such as news and policy reports, weather forecasts, and shipping labels.  

Examples of Standard Chinese License Plates 

To summarise this section on the different components of a standard Chinese license plate, here is a breakdown of some examples: 

What do the Different Colors of Chinese License Plates Mean? 

Besides the license plates’ numbers and characters, you should also pay attention to their color. In China, the color of license plates indicates the type of vehicle or its registration status. Blue, yellow, and green are the three most common colors, but you may occasionally also come across others, such as black and white. In this section, we will explain what each of these colors mean.  

Meaning of a Blue License Plate in China: Most Common Private Vehicles 

• Most common for private, small passenger cars (under 6 meters in length) 

• Format: [Province character + city letter + 5 alphanumeric digits/letters]

Meaning of a Yellow License Plate in China: Large, Commercial, and Specialized Vehicles 

• Used for: 

• Larger vehicles (trucks, buses, vehicles over 6 meters in length) 

• Commercial vehicles 

• Taxis in some regions 

• Format: [Province character + city letter + 5 alphanumeric digits/letters] – same as blue 

Meaning of a Green License Plate in China: New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) 

• Introduced in 2016 for new energy vehicles (NEVs) 

• Include a D/F denotation to denote type: 

• D = Battery electric vehicle, stands for “电” (diàn) meaning “electric” 

• F = Other NEVs, especially plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), stands for “非电” (fēi diàn) meaning non-electric 

• Format : [Province character + city letter + D/F + 5 alphanumeric digits/letters] 

Meaning of a Black License Plate in China: Foreign-Owned or Diplomatic Vehicles 

• Typically assigned to: 

• Foreign-owned enterprises 

• Joint ventures 

• Foreigners with special vehicle import permissions 

• Diplomatic or consular vehicles  

• Include a character indicating the function, e.g., 使 (shǐ) for embassy, either in red at the start or in white at the end 

• Format: [Red Character + 6 alphanumeric digits/letters] or [6 alphanumeric digits/letters + White Character] 

• Have become rarer as black license plates stopped being issued in 2017, but they are still around as previously issued ones have not been taken back

Meaning of a White License Plate in China: Government, Military, or Police Use 

• For non-civilian vehicles such as:  

• Military vehicles 

• Armed police 

• State agencies or special services 

• Formats vary, but will include some letters, characters, or symbols to denote their function. For example, police vehicles will include a警 (jǐng) character, while military vehicles “WJ”.

Summary Table: Chinese License Plate Colors & Their Meanings 

License Plate Restrictions and Regulations in China 

As of 2024, China had over 350 million registered motor vehicles, making it the world’s largest automotive market. Private passenger vehicle ownership has exploded in the past few decades, causing severe traffic congestion, air pollution, and parking space problems in the major cities. In response, the government has had to introduce various measures to regulate car ownership and usage, which often are implemented through license plate restrictions. In this section, we will introduce you to some of the most common ones:  

Number-Based Driving Bans (限号, xiàn hào) on License Plates in China 

Number-Based driving bans, 限号 (xiàn hào) in Mandarin, is the most common license plate restriction affecting all privately-owned vehicles in major cities.  

How It Works: 

• Each weekday prohibits certain license plate endings 

• Violations incur fines and penalty points 

As an example, here is Beijing’s most recent schedule announced in March 2025 (Source):  

Even-Odd Day Restrictions (单双号限行, dān shuāng hào xiàn xíng) on License Plates in China 

Even-Odd Day Restrictions, 单双号限行 (dān shuāng hào xiàn xíng), is another type of license plate restriction in China which will be implemented under special circumstances, for example periods of severe air pollution of major international events, such as the Olympics or G20 Summit.  

How it works: 

• Odd-numbered plates drive on odd calendar dates 

• Even-numbered plates drive on even dates 

• Violations incur fines and penalty points 

Non-local Car Driving Bans (外地车限行, wài dì chē xiàn xíng) 

Non-local Car Driving Bans, 外地车限行 (wài dì chē xiàn xíng), is another type of license plate restriction in China which is designed to prioritize local residents in crowded cities. 

How it works: 

• Restrictions for non-local car plates to, for example, enter particularly busy districts or drive at peak hours 

• Violations incur fines and penalty points

License Plate Quota Systems 

The final and most controversial implementation method is license plate quota systems. In mega-cities like Beijing and Shanghai where congestion and pollution problems are most severe, the municipal governments have implemented various license plate quota systems to limit the number of new cars on the road. Here are the three main license plate quota systems currently in use: 

1. Lottery System (摇号, yáo hào)

The lottery system, used for example in Beijing, allocates license plates based on pure chance. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that in Beijing’s bimonthly draw, only one plate would be awarded for every 2,000 applications (only a 0.2 per cent chance)… 

2. Auction System (竞拍, jìng pāi)

Other cities, most famously Shanghai, instead use an auction system where license plates are awarded to the highest bidder. In May 2023, a new-energy-vehicle magazine reported that at the monthly Shanghai auction, the lowest winning price of a license plate was RMB 92,400, and the average price of RMB 92,547. To give you some sense of scale, the 2025 BYD Seagull electric vehicle is available starting at just about half of that price (56,800 yuan)… so when people complain that license plates are more expensive than cars in Shanghai, they do mean it literally. 

3. Hybrid System

Other cities have implemented a hybrid system whereby they allocate license plates through a combination of the two systems above. When this system was first pioneered in Guangzhou in 2012, the split was 50% through lotteries, 40% through auctions, and 10% reserved for new-energy vehicles. 

How to Get a Chinese License Plate as a Foreigner 

Eligibility Criteria for Buying a Car and Getting a License Plate in China as a Foreigner 

As a foreigner, you need to meet certain eligibility criteria to buy a car in China. The criteria vary from city-to-city, but the general requirements include: 

• Your passport and a valid residence permit 

• A valid Chinese driver’s license (if you don’t know how to get one, see our guide here!) 

• Tax payment records showing proof of continuous personal income tax payment for a specified period 

Procedures for Buying a Car and Getting a License Plate in China as a Foreigner 

If you fulfil the eligibility criteria to buy a car and apply for a license plate in China, the rest of  the process is largely the same as for Chinese citizens: 

1. Buy a car (must have a residence permit in that city) and obtain a formal purchase invoice, which will be a key document to prove the source of the vehicle. 
2. Pay vehicle purchase compulsory insurances. 
3. Visit the local Department of Motor Vehicles (车辆管理所) to register your vehicle. In addition to showing your vehicle purchase invoice, tax certificate, insurance details, and personal ID, you may have to fill out some additional forms and pass a vehicle inspection. After passing, you will receive a vehicle registration certificate. 
4. Apply for a license plate. Once you have received your vehicle registration certificate, you can apply for a license plate. The procedures for this will vary depend on whether your city has a license plate quota system implemented, and if so, whether it is a lottery or auction systems.  

All in all, your first point of contact for anything vehicle, license plate, or driving license-related in China is the Department of Motor Vehicles, 车辆管理所, also referred to as “DMV” or 车辆管所. In most major cities, there are several DMV branches, details for which are available online. Below are the addresses of some commonly visited offices:  

Beijing: Beijing Vehicle Management Office, No. 18 South Fourth Ring East Road, Chaoyang District.  

Guangzhou: Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau Vehicle Administration Office of the Traffic Police Squad, No. 1732 Huaguan Road, Tianhe District. 

Shanghai: No. 1 Branch of Vehicle Administrative Office, No. 2999 West Huaxia Road, Pudong New District.  

Shenzhen: Shenzhen Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Bureau Vehicle Management Office, Xinyi Auto City, Henggang Town, Longgang District, Shenzhen Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Bureau. 

Note that some of these offices may require you to make an appointment, while others allow you to just show up. Make sure to check this beforehand. 

The Cultural Importance of License Plates in China 

Lucky and Unlucky numbers for Chinese License Plates 

As we have covered before, numbers hold a very special significance in Chinese culture. The numbers on car license plates are no exception! Just like with phone numbers, house numbers, and Wi-Fi passwords, certain numbers on license plates in China are favored (or avoided) based on their phonetic resemblance to auspicious or inauspicious words in Mandarin.  

Lucky numbers 

• 8 (八 bā): Sounds like “发” (fā), meaning to get rich. 

• 6 (六 liù): Sounds like “流” (liú), meaning smooth or successful. 

• 9 (九 jiǔ): Sounds like “久” (jiǔ), meaning long-lasting or eternal. 

Unlucky numbers 

• 4 (四 sì): Sounds like “死” (sǐ, death). 

(Another context in which these homophones are relevant for understanding Chinese numerical internet slang, which we have written about here!)  

License Plates in China as a Status Symbol 

The cultural significance of these lucky and unlucky numbers is so strong in China that people sometimes are willing to pay enormous premiums for a plate with more sixes, eights, and nines. (And equally, will avoid those with fours at all costs). As a result, auspicious number plates have become a status symbol.  

In Hong Kong for example, the numbers 18 and 9 sold for $2.1 million (USD) and $1.7 million respectively – and a plate with “28” (which sounds similar to the words for “easy” and “to prosper” in Cantonese), set the record for the highest price ever paid for a license plate at a staggering $2.3 million! 

Conclusion 

So much more to a license plate than you thought, right? Even if you are not a car enthusiast, or looking to buy a car in China at the moment, we hope this blog has given you some interesting insight into the uniquely complicated world of Chinese license plates. Hopefully next time you’re walking down a street in China, gazing out the window of your DiDi, or at the C-drama on your laptop screen, you will be paying a little extra attention to the vehicles passing by! Why not test yourself, and maybe even your friends, on how much information you can gather about them based on the characters, numbers, and colors of their license plates? After all, fun and effective language learning is all about finding the opportunities to learn through the everyday! 

FAQ 

Since Chinese has no alphabet, what is used on the license plates in China?  

Chinese license plates use a combination of Chinese characters, Latin alphabet letters, and numbers. A standard Chinese license plate consists of one Chinese character, followed by a Latin alphabet letter, and then a series of five numbers or letters, such as 京A·12345. 

What does the first character on Chinese licence plates mean? 

The first character on a standard Chinese license plate represents the province or municipality where the vehicle is registered, for example京 for Beijing, 沪for Shanghai, and 粤 for Guangzhou. 

What color are Chinese license plates? 

The three most common colors of license plates in China is blue for small private vehicles, yellow for large and commercial vehicles, and green for new energy vehicles.  You may occasionally also see other colors for special-use vehicles, such as black for foreign or diplomatic vehicles, or white for military, police, or official use. 

How do I get a Chinese license plate? 

As a foreigner, you need to meet certain eligibility criteria to buy a car and apply for a license plate in China, such as having a valid residence permit and Chinese driving license. After this, the procedures vary regionally, depending for example on whether your city has a lottery or auction-based license plate quota system in place. 

Author Bio:

Vivianne Zhang Wei is a Swedish-born Chinese social sciences graduate of University College London. Particularly interested in the ethnographic study of rural China, agriculture, and biopolitics, she has spent the past year travelling around and writing about farms in the Chinese countryside. Previously, she has also organised and taught non-profit English language summer camps for young students in rural China, won national awards in student journalism, and worked in the media and communications industry.