津B 12345
津 plates: Tianjin, and what the letters mean
Facts checked
A plate beginning 津 was registered in Tianjin, a municipality directly under the central government. The character is Jīn, said roughly “jin”. 津 means 'ford' or 'ferry crossing'. It is the second character of 天津 Tiānjīn, 'the heavenly ford' — by tradition the crossing on the Hai River used by the future Yongle Emperor on his march south in 1400.
The letter after it is the office that issued the plate. 津B belongs to Tianjin, and 16 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 | 津 “jin” |
|---|---|
| Place | Tianjin |
| Kind | municipality directly under the central government |
| Capital | Tianjin |
| City letters | 17 |
| Why this character | 津 means 'ford' or 'ferry crossing'. It is the second character of 天津 Tiānjīn, 'the heavenly ford' — by tradition the crossing on the Hai River used by the future Yongle Emperor on his march south in 1400. |
The city letters
- 津A Tianjin — buses, police and new-energy cars
- 津B Tianjin
- 津C Tianjin
- 津D Tianjin
- 津E Tianjin — taxis
- 津F Tianjin
- 津G Tianjin
- 津H Tianjin
- 津J Tianjin
- 津K Tianjin
- 津L Tianjin
- 津M Tianjin
- 津N Tianjin
- 津Q Tianjin
- 津R Tianjin
- 津O Tianjin — public-security series
- 津P Tianjin
| Prefix | Letter | City | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 津A | A | Tianjin — buses, police and new-energy cars | The 津A block covers city buses, police vehicles and small new-energy cars; within it 津AE is used for battery-electric taxis and 津AFT for other new-energy taxis. |
| 津B | B | Tianjin | |
| 津C | C | Tianjin | |
| 津D | D | Tianjin | |
| 津E | E | Tianjin — taxis | |
| 津F | F | Tianjin | |
| 津G | G | Tianjin | |
| 津H | H | Tianjin | |
| 津J | J | Tianjin | |
| 津K | K | Tianjin | |
| 津L | L | Tianjin | |
| 津M | M | Tianjin | |
| 津N | N | Tianjin | |
| 津Q | Q | Tianjin | |
| 津R | R | Tianjin | |
| 津O | O | Tianjin — public-security series | unconfirmed: English Wikipedia lists 津O as a Ministry of Public Security series; the Chinese article's Tianjin table does not list it. Treat as historic until a public-security notice confirms it. |
| 津P | P | Tianjin | unconfirmed: English Wikipedia includes 津P among the general Tianjin series; the Chinese article does not list it. |
Tianjin plates: questions people ask
- What does 津 mean on a Chinese licence plate?
- 津 (Jīn, "jin") is the abbreviation for Tianjin. 津 means 'ford' or 'ferry crossing'. It is the second character of 天津 Tiānjīn, 'the heavenly ford' — by tradition the crossing on the Hai River used by the future Yongle Emperor on his march south in 1400.
- Which city is 津B?
- Tianjin. 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 Tianjin use?
- 17 are recorded here, A to P. A retired or reassigned letter keeps its note in the table.
Related
Sources for Tianjin
- 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.