Submit a comment
A car registered in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, or two of the three, will have two or three license plates attached at the same time.
In order for a vehicle to be able to drive from mainland China to Hong Kong and/or Macau and vice versa, or to stay regularly in all three places without having to apply for a permit each time it crosses the border, it must have license plates from two or all three places.
Normally, for a vehicle to travel from one place to another, for example from Hong Kong to mainland China, it will take time to register and apply for a temporary driving license. For each trip, a vehicle from Hong Kong can only stay in mainland China for 30 days, and a maximum of 180 days in a year.
For those who only need to travel, or visit relatives, with short and infrequent trips, having to register each time they cross may not be too troublesome. But for those who frequently travel from Hong Kong or Macau to mainland China, or vice versa, and stay longer than the allowed time limit, they will think of other ways.
These are usually businessmen who have large investments in projects and businesses in these three places, with annual tax payments that meet the requirements of local authorities. The cars of these tycoons will be issued with license plates from each place, meaning they can have three license plates at the same time.
Hong Kong license plates are typically white with black letters on the front, and yellow with black letters on the back. Letters and numbers are used in combination on the plates, and the English alphabet is used.
For cars from Hong Kong to enter mainland China, they must be registered in Guangdong province. The plates typically combine Chinese and English letters, followed by a combination of letters and numbers. These plates are manufactured to mainland Chinese standards, but with a black background and white letters.
Macau license plates will start with the letters MA followed by four numbers, with each pair of numbers separated by a dash. The license plate has a black background with yellow letters.
In addition, vehicles from Guangdong to Hong Kong are divided into official vehicles and commercial vehicles. Official vehicles will have license plates starting with FU, while commercial vehicles will have license plates starting with FV.
Accordingly, the license plate number on the Bentley in the photo above, in order from top to bottom, will be: Mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong.
