Where in Shanghai is the Hu S license plate from?
2 Answers
Currently, there is no Hu S license plate. The Hu license plate code is for Shanghai. The license plate codes for Shanghai are: Hu A, Hu B, Hu D, Hu E, Hu F, Hu G, Hu H, Hu J, Hu K, Hu L, Hu M, Hu N (urban areas), Hu C (outer suburbs, not allowed inside the outer ring road), Hu AX, Hu BX, Hu DX (private taxis). Vehicle license plates are plates hung on the front and back of the car, usually made of aluminum, plastic, or stickers. The plates display the vehicle's registration number, registration area, or other basic information. License plates are used to number each vehicle, and their main function is to identify the province, city, or county to which the vehicle belongs. The vehicle management office can trace the owner of the vehicle through the license plate.
As a veteran driver who has lived in Shanghai for over a decade, I'm quite familiar with local license plates. Hu-S is a genuine Shanghai urban plate, no different from Hu-A or Hu-B. Around 2018, when demand for Shanghai plates surged dramatically, the vehicle management office started using the letter S. Nowadays, you can see ride-hailing cars with Hu-S plates shuttling daily on Puxi's elevated roads, proving they have equal road privileges as traditional urban plates. In contrast, Hu-C plates are special—they're restricted to suburban areas like Jiading and Songjiang, and entering the urban area will get you a ticket. Recently, I've even noticed new energy green plates starting with Hu-S, showing the letter S has fully integrated into Shanghai's license plate system. If out-of-town friends ask, I simply tell them Hu-S represents a standard Shanghai plate—feel free to drive into People's Square without worry.
