京A 12345
京 plates: Beijing, and what the letters mean
Facts checked
A plate beginning 京 was registered in Beijing, a municipality directly under the central government. The character is Jīng, said roughly “jing (as in 'jingle')”. 京 means 'capital'. It is the second character of 北京 Běijīng, 'northern capital', the name Beijing has carried since the Ming dynasty moved its court there.
The letter after it is the office that issued the plate. 京A belongs to Beijing, and 24 further letters are recorded below.
The colour of the plate is a separate fact from the characters: it says what kind of vehicle carries it, and the characters say nothing about it. The colour guide sets out what each of the 7 colours licenses.
Key facts
| Plate character | 京 “jing (as in 'jingle')” |
|---|---|
| Place | Beijing |
| Kind | municipality directly under the central government |
| Capital | Beijing |
| City letters | 25 |
| Why this character | 京 means 'capital'. It is the second character of 北京 Běijīng, 'northern capital', the name Beijing has carried since the Ming dynasty moved its court there. |
The city letters
- 京A Beijing — city districts
- 京B Beijing — taxis
- 京C Beijing — city districts
- 京D Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau
- 京E Beijing — city districts
- 京F Beijing — city districts
- 京G Beijing — outer suburbs
- 京H Beijing — city districts
- 京J Beijing — city districts
- 京K Beijing — city districts
- 京L Beijing — city districts
- 京M Beijing — city districts
- 京N Beijing — city districts
- 京P Beijing — city districts
- 京Q Beijing — city districts
- 京R Beijing — temporary plates
- 京S Beijing — temporary plates
- 京T Beijing — temporary plates
- 京U Beijing — temporary plates
- 京V Central Guard Bureau and units directly under the central military authorities
- 京W Beijing — temporary plates
- 京X Beijing — temporary plates
- 京Y Beijing — outer suburbs
- 京Z Beijing — temporary plates
- 京O Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (historic)
| Prefix | Letter | City | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 京A | A | Beijing — city districts | The oldest series: ordinary city registrations, central-government and foreign-institution cars, city buses, and small new-energy cars. The 京A·A block was reopened to ordinary vehicles in January 2018. 京A is also the motorcycle series allowed inside the 4th Ring Road; no new 京A motorcycle plates are issued, though existing ones may be transferred. |
| 京B | B | Beijing — taxis | Taxi series for cars. 京B is also the suburban motorcycle series, which may not enter the 4th Ring Road; 京B three-wheelers are additionally barred from inside the 6th Ring Road. |
| 京C | C | Beijing — city districts | Ordinary city registrations. 京C is also the series for the electric cargo tricycles used by postal, parks and sanitation services, allowed on city roads under a rule in force from 1 November 2023. |
| 京D | D | Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau | Police series (civilian-numbered). |
| 京E | E | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京F | F | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京G | G | Beijing — outer suburbs | Outer-suburban series; no longer issued. New registrations in those districts use ordinary city series instead. |
| 京H | H | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京J | J | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京K | K | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京L | L | Beijing — city districts | 京L·B and 京L·C blocks are used for foreign-owned and foreign-company vehicles. |
| 京M | M | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京N | N | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京P | P | Beijing — city districts | First issued in 2008 to vehicles working on the Beijing Olympic Games, later opened to ordinary registrations. |
| 京Q | Q | Beijing — city districts | |
| 京R | R | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京S | S | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京T | T | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京U | U | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京V | V | Central Guard Bureau and units directly under the central military authorities | |
| 京W | W | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京X | X | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京Y | Y | Beijing — outer suburbs | Outer-suburban series; no longer issued. |
| 京Z | Z | Beijing — temporary plates | |
| 京O | O | Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (historic) | 京O was the capital's public-security block and the most recognised of all the O series; it is no longer issued for ordinary police use, and Beijing police registrations now run on 京D and on the white 警 plate. unconfirmed: the exact date 京O closed to new issues. |
Beijing plates: questions people ask
- What does 京 mean on a Chinese licence plate?
- 京 (Jīng, "jing (as in 'jingle')") is the abbreviation for Beijing. 京 means 'capital'. It is the second character of 北京 Běijīng, 'northern capital', the name Beijing has carried since the Ming dynasty moved its court there.
- Which city is 京A?
- Beijing. The letter A goes to the seat of government in almost every province, and the remaining letters were assigned to the other issuing offices.
- How many plate letters does Beijing use?
- 25 are recorded here, A to O. A retired or reassigned letter keeps its note in the table.
Related
Sources for Beijing
- Wikipedia (Chinese), 中华人民共和国民用机动车号牌 (Civil motor-vehicle registration plates of the People's Republic of China). Read . Carries the complete province-by-province table of issuing-office letters, with the retired and renumbered series footnoted to Chinese news and public-security sources. Used as a finding aid; wording here is our own.
- Wikipedia, Vehicle registration plates of China. Read . English list of prefixes; the article flags its own list as incomplete, so it is used here to cross-check the Chinese table rather than as the primary record.
- Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, 北京市小客车指标调控管理信息系统 (Beijing passenger-car quota control management information system). Read . The official application and result-checking system for Beijing's passenger-car plate quota lottery.