What do the letters on license plates in Guangdong Province represent?
2 Answers
Guangdong Province license plate letters represent: Yue A is Guangzhou, Yue B is Shenzhen, Yue C is Zhuhai, Yue D is Shantou, Yue E is Foshan, Yue F is Shaoguan, Yue G is Zhanjiang, Yue H is Zhaoqing, Yue J is Jiangmen, Yue K is Maoming, Yue L is Huizhou, Yue M is Meizhou, Yue N is Shanwei, Yue P is Heyuan, Yue Q is Yangjiang, Yue R is Qingyuan, Yue S is Dongguan, Yue T is Zhongshan, Yue U is Chaozhou, Yue V is Jieyang, Yue W is Yunfu, Yue X is Shunde, Yue Y is Nanhai, Yue Z is for vehicles entering mainland China from Hong Kong and Macau. License plate numbers are identification tags for vehicles, and their significance to a car is akin to an ID number for a person.
I've been driving in Guangdong for over a decade and have basically memorized which cities the license plate letters represent. A is for Guangzhou, very common as the provincial capital, B is for Shaoguan, relatively less seen. C is for Shenzhen, particularly noticeable due to the city's heavy traffic—you'll see them every day. D is for Zhuhai, E for Foshan, though some mistakenly think it's for Shantou, but E is specifically assigned to Foshan. F is for Jiangmen, G for Shantou, H for Maoming, J for Zhanjiang, K for Meizhou, and L for Huizhou. The letters I and O are generally avoided to prevent confusion with the numbers 1 and 0. This system is quite good, helping us quickly identify where a car is registered while on the road—for example, seeing a C plate might suggest the owner is from Shenzhen. Some cities share letters, but most correspond clearly, and some people even consider this when choosing a car. I've noticed that the letter assignments take city size into account; for instance, Shenzhen, with its rapid development, got a dedicated C, which makes sense. The more you drive, the more you naturally pick up on these patterns, adding a bit of fun to driving and making traffic management easier.
