How are the Xinjiang license plates ABCD sorted?
2 Answers
The sorting of Xinjiang license plates is as follows: A for Urumqi City, B for Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, C for Shihezi City, D for Kuitun City, E for Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, F for Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, G for Tacheng Prefecture, H for Altay Prefecture, J for Karamay City, K for Turpan Prefecture, L for Hami Prefecture, M for Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, N for Aksu Prefecture, P for Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture, Q for Kashgar Prefecture, and R for Hotan Prefecture. Here is some relevant information: 1. The current civilian license plate system is the 92-style, which has been used nationwide since July 1994. 2. The first character of the license plate is a Chinese character: it represents the provincial-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, which is the abbreviation of the (province, municipality directly under the central government, or autonomous region), for example: Beijing is Jing, Shanghai is Hu, Hunan is Xiang, Chongqing is Yu, and Shandong is Lu. 3. The second character of the license plate is an English letter: it represents the prefecture-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, which is the letter code for each (prefecture-level city, prefecture, autonomous prefecture, or league). The ranking is generally determined by the provincial vehicle management office based on the status of each prefecture-level administrative region: (the letter 'A' is the code for the capital, the seat of the provincial government, or the central urban area of a municipality directly under the central government, and the subsequent letters are not ranked in any particular order).
I live in Xinjiang and often drive out. The order of ABCDEF on Xinjiang license plates actually represents vehicles from different regions, as clear as markers on a map. Xin A is for Urumqi, the capital city, always ranked first; Xin B is for Changji; Xin C is for Shihezi; Xin D is for Kuytun; Xin E is for Bortala; Xin F is for Ili. This ordering is mainly based on administrative divisions and the importance of cities, with Urumqi taking priority. Knowing these codes is particularly useful. For example, when I see a Xin F license plate while traveling, I know it’s from Ili, where there are Kazakh-style grassland landscapes. This system design makes road management more efficient and avoids confusion. Additionally, other parts of the license plate, such as numbers and Chinese characters, differentiate between male and female car owners, but I mainly focus on the regional codes. This allows me to quickly determine the origin of a vehicle, ensuring I have a clear idea during traffic jams. License plates aren’t randomly arranged; they follow a unified national plan, ensuring orderly tracking of vehicles across such a vast region like Xinjiang.
