A Changan BenBen Mini with diplomatic license plates, seen in Beijing in 2017. The good BenBen was painted in white and appeared to be in a fine shape.
In the Chinese capital Beijing, diplomatic license plates start with the character 使 (shi), is short for 大使馆 dashiguan, or embassy. Each embassy has its own 3-digit number. In this case the number is 230, which stands for Serbia.
The next 3 digits are the car number. The ambassador’s official car is always 001 but there are no specific rules for the other numbers, and plates may be carried over from car to car. Our BenBen has car number 090, which means that the license plate, when it was issued, was for the 90th car operated by the Serbian embassy.
The Changan BenBen Mini was hatchback produced from 2010 until 2013 with a facelift in 2011. Our embassy car is a post-facelift example. It was a small machine: 3580/1570/1490, with a 2345 millimeter wheelbase. Power came from a four-cylinder gasoline engine with 69 hp and 91 Nm, mated to a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. Price started at a super cheap 36.900 yuan.