Could it be...the Lama? Inset: Air force plates.

By Wang Fanfan

Driving in Beijing is not easy. Three years ago, when you asked a taxi driver how many traffic jams there were in a day, he or she would have told you that there were two: when people went to work and when people finished.

Now if you ask the same question, your taxi driver will tell you that there is only one: from morning through night.

It can be worse if you are stuck on the street waiting for the light to turn green while the car next to you, maybe a Mercedes or a BMW, sweeps by without noticing the light, and the traffic police standing on the street corner pretend nothing happened. Don't be surprised.

Cars are the sedan chairs of modern times. If all sedan chairs stopped and waited for the Emperors in Ancient China, you don't expect today's presidents and ministers to be stuck in traffic for two hours each day like you and me, do you?

We are giving you a new Beijing roadmap. It won't tell you where places are, but it will bring you a new experience of driving in the capital.

Parking on the pavement? Must be a good plate...

Colors of car plates

Civilian-use vehicles have two different plate colors, blue and yellow. Blue plates are small vehicles which we see most commonly on Beijing streets. Yellow plates are for big vehicles with over six seats, like buses, or agricultural vehicles, as well as training cars.

White plates are mostly used by the police and the army, while black plates are for embassy cars with the first character "使" in red. On black plates, the following three numbers stand for the country (eg. 224 is for the US and 223 is for the UK). If you see an embassy car on the street with the last three numbers 001, most likely that's Mr. or Ms. Ambassador.

Super power plates

All blue plated cars in Beijing start with the Chinese character "京", followed by a combination of six letters or numbers. Don't belittle the combination, because in different combinations it can represent the highest glory and authority, or the lowest caste of rural cars.

"京AG6***" plates are the so called "royal plates." It is definitely the highest rank among all civilian car plates and they number less than 200 in total. They are for state leaders only. Black imported Audi A6 and Mercedes 7 series are the most common choices.

You won't see them very often unless you wait in the area between Muxidi and the South Gate of Yuyuan Lake. In terms of hierarchy, "京A8****" is basically the level for ministers and Beijing mayors. However, business tycoons and the blueblooded are also eligible for the registration of those plates. For example, the plate "京 A88888" has many different rumors about who really owns it. Some say it is the Panchen Lama, while others say it is Li Xiaohua, the richest man in Beijing.

Super luxury cars such as Bentleys and Porsches can also be seen with such car plates. But some of the owners are what we term "nouveau riche," and cannot wait to abuse their newly endowed rights. If "京AG6" cars are nearly always driven by stable and well-trained drivers, some "京A8"'s are trouble makers on the street. They disregard traffic lights or traffic lines and the traffic police are helpless to stop them. They are like the naughty boys shielded under a super power's umbrella.

It does matter if you’re black or white if you’re a plate. Photo: CFP

Red Flag

No one will forget the "Red Flag" limo in which President Hu was driven on the National Day parade to greet the troops. "京V-02009" was the plate of the limo. The first character and the first letter were in red while all numbers were in black.

"京V*****" ranks the top among military plates. They are for the highest military officials of the state. But in Beijing, regional military plates that start with "北" instead of "京" are of the lower level.

Different branches of the army include fairly obvious signs on their plates. For example, air force and navy plates begin with the Chinese character "空"(sky) and "海"(sea) respectively.

Ordinary people in Beijing always get confused between soldiers and police, especially when it comes to the category of armed police. But at least you can tell the difference now by looking at their car plates: Beijing police cars use white plates in the form of "京 A****警" with the last character in red, while armed police car plates start with red capital letters "WJ."

Nothing is absolute, especially when none of the rules are confirmed by the authorities. Nevertheless, hidden rules are for your convenience, so don't ask, don't tell. And moreover, be careful next time when you are driving, don't keep your eyes focused on the plates, at least if you want to avoid a painful smash.

wangfanfan@globaltimes.com.cn