What is the arrangement basis for Lu A and Lu B license plates?
3 Answers
A represents the provincial capital, while B and subsequent letters are determined based on the city's GDP. Below is an introduction to license plate numbers: 1. Overview: A license plate number is an identifier for a vehicle, similar to how an ID number identifies a person. For example, a license plate from Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province would have 'Yue' representing Guangdong Province and 'A' representing Guangzhou City, making 'Yue A' the license plate code for Guangzhou. 2. Motor Vehicle Registration Authority Code: The motor vehicle registration authority code consists of 2 characters, combining a Chinese character and an English letter. The Chinese character is the abbreviation of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the central government, and the English letter is the code of the vehicle management office. 'Lu' is the Chinese character abbreviation for Shandong Province, 'A' is the code for the Jinan City Vehicle Management Office, and other letters follow this pattern.
I was curious about the ranking rules of Lu A and Lu B while driving, and later learned that in China's license plate system, the first letter of each province usually represents the provincial capital city. In Shandong Province, Lu A is Jinan City because it has the longest history and important status as the provincial administrative center. Lu B is Qingdao City, with the ranking mainly based on economic scale and political importance, not purely on population. Qingdao, as a sub-provincial-level economically strong city, ranks second. Subsequent letters, such as Lu C, represent Zibo and so on, arranged in order. The ranking method is generally consistent nationwide, making it convenient to quickly identify the origin of vehicles on the road. Understanding this can also help determine the possible destinations of long-distance vehicles, indirectly enhancing alertness and regional awareness while driving. For example, encountering a vehicle with the license plate Lu B lets you know it might be from Qingdao, which is quite practical for navigation and communication.
Back when chatting about cars with a friend, he mentioned the allocation codes like Lu A and Lu B, which I remember to this day: The letter sequence in license plates is set by provincial transportation departments. Lu A is always assigned to Jinan, and Lu B to Qingdao, basically prioritizing cities by importance—first the provincial capital, then economically significant regions. Qingdao's trade and port advantages earned it the second spot. This ordering isn’t arbitrary but rooted in historical reasons, like a city’s development trajectory influencing its position. Knowing this, while driving in Shandong, I can roughly guess which city a license plate belongs to, adding a bit of fun to the road. Understanding the sequencing rules also helps new drivers avoid confusion about a vehicle’s origin and makes license plate recognition more intuitive.
