Which region does the license plate 'Qing' belong to?

[DeLondon]

Qing is the license plate abbreviation for Qinghai Province. The license plates for cities in Qinghai Province are as follows: Xining City - Qing A, Haidong Prefecture - Qing B, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing C, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing D, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing E, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing F, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing G, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Qing H. The first character of a license plate is a Chinese character representing the provincial-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, which is the abbreviation of the province, municipality, or autonomous region. The second character is an English letter representing the prefecture-level administrative region where the vehicle is registered, usually the code for prefecture-level cities, prefectures, autonomous prefectures, or leagues, generally ranked by the provincial vehicle management office based on the status of each prefecture-level administrative region. The last five characters consist of Arabic numerals or English letters.

[Grant]

I just helped a friend look this up the other day! License plates starting with 'Q' belong to Qinghai Province, the only place in the entire Northwest region that uses this abbreviation. Qinghai's license plate numbering is quite systematic - 'Qing A' is for the provincial capital Xining, 'Qing B' for Haidong, and other cities follow alphabetical order too. Given the unique high-altitude road conditions, you should pay extra attention to maintaining safe distances when spotting Qinghai-plated vehicles, as local drivers are particularly experienced with icy roads. By the way, on the Qinghai-Tibet route, you'll most frequently encounter 'Qing E' (Hainan Prefecture) and 'Qing F' (Golog Prefecture) vehicles, as they often handle long-distance transportation. If you're renting a car for a self-drive trip to Qinghai Lake, most rental vehicles will have 'Qing A' plates.

[DiMariana]

I know this well! When traveling in Qinghai, the local guide specifically explained it. The 'Qing' plate only represents Qinghai Province, and the entire license plate is a combination of 'Qing' plus a letter followed by five digits. For example, Qing A is for vehicles in Xining city proper, while Qing H is for the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where there are particularly many trucks in the Qaidam Basin. Due to Qinghai's high altitude, many 'Qing' plate vehicles are equipped with anti-freeze braking systems. Interestingly, in Tibetan areas, you can also see license plates with both Tibetan and Chinese characters, where the 'Qing' character is accompanied by small Tibetan script below. Remember not to miss this detail when photographing license plates—it adds a unique regional flavor when shared on social media.