Where is the license plate number starting with 'Dan' from?
3 Answers
In China, there are no license plate numbers that start with 'Dan'. The following is an introduction to license plate numbers: 1. License plates, commonly known as plates, also refer to vehicle registration plates, which are plates hung at the front and rear of a vehicle. The materials commonly used are aluminum, iron, plastic, or paper, on which the vehicle's registration number, registration region, or other relevant information is engraved. 2. License plate numbers can be designed by oneself, except for the first two characters which must comply with national regulations, the rest can be freely chosen. 3. The current civilian license plates are the 92-style, which have been used nationwide since July 1994. 4. The first character of the license plate is a Chinese character: it represents the provincial-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, which is the abbreviation of the (province, municipality directly under the central government, autonomous region). 5. The second character of the license plate is an English letter: it represents the prefecture-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, which is the letter code for each (prefecture-level city, region, autonomous prefecture, league), generally ranked according to the status of each prefecture-level administrative region by the provincial vehicle management office.
In the Chinese vehicle license plate system, the character 'Dan' does not typically represent a specific location directly. Instead, it is commonly used to refer to Dandong City in Liaoning Province, where the license plate prefix is 'Liao F'. In daily life, we see license plates starting with the abbreviation of the province, such as 'Yue' for Guangdong and 'Liao' for Liaoning. The second letter represents the city, like 'A' for Shenyang, while Dandong is fixed with 'F'. After checking online, I found that some people mistakenly use 'Dan' due to similar pronunciation or slips of the tongue, but in reality, it is an informal term. To check the origin of a license plate, the simplest way is to download a traffic management app, enter the full plate number, and get instant results, or just remember 'Liao F'. Dandong is located in the southeast of Liaoning, bordering the Yalu River, and is a border city relying on its port and tourism industry. License plates here rarely encounter special situations. Recognizing plates correctly while driving is key to avoiding fines. Remembering the prefixes correctly prevents misunderstandings: 'Liao A' for Shenyang, 'Liao B' for Dalian, and 'Liao F' for Dandong. Other similar issues include partially obscured plates due to wear, so it's best to clean the plate surface during regular maintenance.
The character 'Dan' in license plates generally refers to Dandong City, which belongs to Liaoning Province. The standard license plate starts with 'Liao F'. After driving for so many years, I've encountered many similar issues. Sometimes the traffic cameras at intersections capture blurry images, or I misremember and think it's an abbreviation, but in reality, China's license plate system is very standardized. Each province has its own independent code, with Liaoning Province uniformly using the prefix 'Liao', and cities are differentiated by letters. Why is Dandong assigned 'F'? It's based on historical allocation without any special reason. Checking the origin isn't troublesome—you can scan the plate number with your phone or ask a traffic officer to figure it out. I've been to Dandong; the environment is quite nice, close to North Korea. During self-driving trips, the traffic is heavy, but the plate numbers don't change randomly. A common mistake people make is mistaking 'Dan' as a standalone code, which doesn't exist. In the official system, you need to look for the complete prefix. I recommend checking a map app before traveling, marking the local license plate codes to ensure a worry-free journey on the road.
