Where are vehicles with the license plate 'Hei L' from?
3 Answers
Vehicles with the license plate 'Hei L' are from the Songhua River region of Heilongjiang Province. The license plate codes for cities in Heilongjiang Province are as follows: Hei A is Harbin City, Hei B is Qiqihar City, Hei C is Mudanjiang City, Hei D is Jiamusi City, Hei E is Daqing City, Hei F is Yichun City, Hei G is Jixi City, Hei H is Hegang City, Hei J is Shuangyashan City, Hei K is Qitaihe City, Hei L is the Songhua River region, Hei M is Suihua City, Hei N is Heihe City, and Hei P is the Greater Khingan Mountains region. Heilongjiang Province, abbreviated as 'Hei,' is a provincial-level administrative region of the People's Republic of China, with its capital in Harbin. Located in the northeastern part of China, it borders Russia across the river to the north and east, Inner Mongolia to the west, and Jilin Province to the south. It is the northernmost and easternmost provincial-level administrative region in China.
Black license plates are now quite rare in China, primarily used by specific units before 1995. The most common ones are vehicles of foreign consulates, with the first character being 'Shi' (meaning 'embassy'), followed by the country code and number. For example, formats like 'Shi 188-01'. Vehicles from Hong Kong and Macau entering the mainland also have black plates, marked with the characters 'Gang' (Hong Kong) or 'Ao' (Macau). In the early years, some joint ventures also used black plates, but after 2007, they were all replaced with blue plates. Nowadays, black plates are mostly seen on collector's vintage cars or as props in films and TV shows. In the old districts of Guangzhou, I've even seen a consulate's Mercedes-Benz still sporting this old-style black plate, which really gives off a vintage vibe.
Don't be nervous when you see black license plates, as they are mostly special vehicles. The most typical ones are consular official cars, with the character 'Shi' (meaning 'embassy') on the plate, followed by a three-digit number to distinguish the country. For example, 'Shi 233' indicates a consulate vehicle from a certain country. Cross-border vehicles from Hong Kong and Macau also have black plates with white characters, marked with 'Gang Ao' (meaning 'Hong Kong-Macau'). Around the year 2000, it was common to see black plates on vehicles owned by foreign company executives, but these cars have since been re-plated. However, classic cars in museums might still retain their black plates. Last time at the auto museum, I saw a 1985 Toyota Crown still sporting its black plate.
