What does the character 'Ling' at the end of a license plate mean?
3 Answers
A license plate with the character 'Ling' at the end indicates a vehicle belonging to a foreign embassy or consulate. Below are relevant details about vehicles of foreign embassies: 1. Reason: Since vehicles of these institutions enjoy diplomatic immunity, their license plates have a black background with white characters, the 'Ling' character in red, and are mainly surrounded by white borders. Regardless of the type of license plate, they must comply with traffic safety laws. 2. Notification required for random parking or leaving the vehicle: If consular officers need to leave the scene of a traffic accident or traffic violation inspection for official duties, they must explain the reason to the traffic police and arrange an alternative time and place for handling the matter. In cases where valid documents are not presented, the scene is left without authorization, there is refusal to cooperate with traffic police, or non-consular personnel are driving a vehicle with a 'Ling' license plate, the police will handle the situation in accordance with China's Road Traffic Safety Law and related laws and regulations.
I specifically looked into this matter. License plates with the character ‘领’ (Ling) indicate consular vehicles. Such plates start with either ‘使’ (Shi) or ‘领’ (Ling), representing embassy or consulate vehicles, and end with the Chinese character ‘领’. Last year in Shanghai, I saw an Audi with a license plate like Hu A·123领. These vehicles enjoy diplomatic immunity and are generally not stopped by traffic police, but ordinary people absolutely cannot obtain such plates. I’ve heard that these cars also display national flags, so remember to yield and keep a respectful distance when you encounter one. The transfer of these vehicles is very strict, and the plates are directly canceled when diplomatic personnel leave their posts. If you see a car with the character ‘领’ on the road, it’s almost certainly a consular official vehicle.
My friend who works at the DMV said that license plates with the character 'Consul' belong to the diplomatic vehicle series, specifically for consular vehicles. These plates feature a red 'Consul' character at the end to distinguish them from regular blue plates. Last month, while handling a used car transaction, I came across a retired Mercedes-Benz from a consulate, with the imprint of the red 'Consul' character still visible on the license plate position. Such vehicles are equipped with internationally recognized CD plates (Corps Diplomatique) and have special markings on the front windshield. Their annual inspections are conducted through special channels, and regular repair shops rarely encounter these vehicles. Interestingly, the arrangement of the license plate numbers varies according to the consul's rank.
