From October 1 car owners will be allowed to define their own license plate number, within the limits of the relevant rules, according to a regulation issued by the Ministry of Public Security.

Two methods will be available for car owners to apply for license plates. One will be to get the numbers through a computer program. The other will be for the owners themselves to define a number within the limits of the relevant regulations. The customized number plate will cost the same as the computer-defined one.

"It will take a few days to produce the customized plates – owners can obtain their license plates at specified locations or through the mail," said Li Jiangping, deputy director of traffic administration at the Ministry of Public Security.

There are now almost 1 million plate numbers available to applicants in Beijing, Li said.

Car owners should acquaint themselves with the relevant regulations before defining their license plates, and it will be wise for the applicants to list some alternative numbers before applying. In particular, car owners should avoid lucky numbers to improve the efficiency of the registration process.

The system of customized plate numbers was initiated in Xi'an on September 12. More than 600 owners registered their self-defined numbers that day compared with a previous average of 300 per working day.

Residents in Xi'an can file their applications in one of four locations. More than 2000 customized plates were registered in just a few days, said an insider from the Vehicle Administrative Office of Xi'an.

Many owners expressed their enthusiasm for the new numbering system. Wu Junxia, a female car owner from Xi'an, felt that the new system is beneficial to the public and allows a greater freedom of choice.

The self-numbering system aims to share among ordinary people the ability to choose their favorable numbers, said Geng Yin’an, deputy director of the Vehicle Administrative Office of Xi'an.

“The new system is about people-focused management and social justice,” an official in Xi'an told Xinhua News Agency.

Some experts suggest that efficient management should be encouraged to allow the public to take advantage of more public resources, such as mobile phone numbers and land-line numbers.

(China.org.cn by Yang Xi, September 25, 2008)