Chinese Numerology: Complicated Car Ban in Beijing

Posted by Bertel Schmitt

October 16, 2008

by Bertel Schmitt

Faced with its thick smog and a possible embarrassment during the Olympics, after a lot of head-scratching, the City of Beijing had resorted to what some named the “Nigeria Solution:” Cars with license plates that end in an odd number were allowed to drive on odd days, cars with even numbers could drive on even days of the month.

In the 70’s, Lagos, Nigeria had the same idea. The city of 7 million suffered permanent gridlock. Lagos came up with the odd/even rule. A friend of mine was sent to Lagos by Volkswagen to help launch their new plant in Nigeria. He called the rule “the best marketing campaign we ever had.” People who had the money simply bought a second car.

Beijing’s car dealers looked forward to the city keeping the odd/even rule after the Olympics. Instead, China’s capital came up with a rule the world had never seen before:

Cars which have a license plate that ends in 1 or 6 may not drive on Mondays.

Cars having a license plate that ends in 2 or 7 are not allowed to drive on Tuesdays.

Cars having a license plate that ends in 3 or 8 are not allowed to drive on Wednesdays.

Cars having a license plate that ends in 4 or 9 are not allowed to drive on Thursdays.

Cars having a license plate that ends in 5 or 0 are not allowed to drive on Fridays.

Cars with temporary plates, or with plates ending with a letter, are treated as “0″ cars: No driving on Fridays.

Police, ambulances, fire trucks, busses, taxis and other public transport vehicles are exempt.

Saturdays and Sundays are wide open: All numbers may hit the road.

The rule is in effect only inside the 5th Ring Road.

The rule is in effect for privately owned vehicles from 6am to 9pm.

For company-owned or government-owned vehicles (except for the ones mentioned above) the rule applies around the clock.

How the authorities see whether a car is privately or company owned is a mystery. There are no decals for company cars. Police would have to pull cars over and check the registration to find that out. Could they follow motorists at night, call in their plate, and pull them over if it’s a Friday, if the plate ends in a 5, and if the vehicle is registered with a company? In Germany, they might just do that. But This Is China (TIC.)

Wait, it gets more complicated: Each month, the rules will be changed, new days will be announced that are verboten for certain numbers. By end of October, a Beijinger with a 3 as the last number on his plate has hopefully realized that on Wednesdays, he has to take the subway or hitch a ride with his neighbor. Come November, he will have to unlearn everything. In November, it could be a Thursday. It could be a Tuesday in December. Or a Friday. Nobody knows. The traffic bureau will announce the new days a week before the start of a new month.

It is no surprise that Beijing is a bit perplexed by the scheme. The Chinese are big on numbers. Numerology is king in China. Vanity telephone numbers are unknown in China, because Chinese allegedly remember numbers better than letters. Even to the numerically superior Chinese, the scheme appears to be challenging. On Monday, I saw many cars with 1 or 6. On Tuesday, I saw a lot with 2 or 7. On Wednesday, many cars with 3 or 8 were on the road. They weren’t just on the road, they were on TV. Footage of scofflaws who ignored the new rules ruled the airwaves. However, I had to tell my driver that he would not be allowed to pick me up at the airport on Thursday, because of the number 4 on our plate. He never had heard of the rule, and he looked at me as if I’m a “250″ - that’s what the numerically superior Chinese call a stupid person.

Beijing’s car dealers have renewed hopes that people will buy oodles of second cars once the rules have fully sunk in and fines are handed out. What happens to the poor folks who have the bad luck of owning one car that has a 1 as the last number of the license plate, while their second car has a 6? Many had bought a second car before the Olympics and had made sure that the plate ended in an odd number if the first car?s number was even. Now the investment is to be lost? The Traffic Bureau gives these poor souls a big break. They can come in and trade their license plate for a non-conflicting number. Equipped with two cars and the proper numerology, they can happily drive on all days of the week.

According to just released figures, 2 million more cars will take to Beijing’s roads by 2012, and bring the total to 5.4 million. If the numbers-scheme stays in place, we could see 2 million more cars by next year.

About the Author:

About the author: After having worked as a Marketing Consultant for Volkswagen AG for three decades, Bertel Schmitt changed sides in 2005 to found Hongkong, Beijing, and Hamburg based Sinamotive, a company specialized in sourcing low cost high quality auto parts in China. The company supplies many European wholesalers.

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