The test vehicle is driving on the Pingtan Ruyi Lake International Circuit.

On February 19, Pingtan, China's Fujian province, issued its first temporary license plate for an intelligent connected vehicle, marking a key milestone in the region's efforts to test and develop autonomous driving technology. 

The test vehicle will undergo road trials on designated open roads and test sites, assessing its safety, stability, and intelligence in complex urban environments. 

This initiative is part of the "Pilot Project for Autonomous Driving in Urban Travel and Logistics Services in Pingtan, Fujian," a national-level intelligent transportation project approved by the Ministry of Transport, P.R.C. A major component of the project is the renovation of intelligent connected vehicle facilities at the Pingtan Ruyi Lake International Circuit, where key infrastructure—such as near and far-view cameras, fisheye cameras, millimeter wave sensors, and lidar—has already been installed. 

The test site is a 2.9-kilometer circuit designed for both closed-road and open-road testing. According to Zeng Huazhen, an engineering supervisor at Pingtan Culture and Tourism Group, the racetrack offers diverse real-road scenarios, including water-logged sections, free parking, unsignalized intersections, road construction zones, and mixed pedestrian-vehicle traffic.

Looking ahead, Pingtan plans to conduct 1,000 hours of autonomous driving road tests and host an intelligent connected vehicle competition. These efforts aim to attract innovative resources and establish Pingtan as a hub for autonomous driving technology. 

Lei Wenbin, a senior software engineer at Donghua Software, highlighted safety as a top priority for intelligent connected vehicles. He noted that Pingtan's favorable road conditions and diverse test scenarios—including 16 different safety assessments at the racetrack—made it an ideal location for the pilot project.