Two car license plates - Yu-QS8888 and Yu-QS9999 - were bought for 1.2 million yuan ($195,540) each on Tuesday in Zhumadian, Henan province, and were called the "most expensive sheets of iron" by China News Service in a report on Tuesday.

During the open bidding procedure for issuing license plates, the city's traffic management authority displayed 57 so-called "lucky" car licenses. Fifty-five were sold for a total of 7.59 million yuan, including the Yu-QS8888 and Yu-QS9999 plates.

The local government department said the money earned from the sales will be used as a social assistance fund for traffic accidents.

"Lucky" car license numbers are scarce and considered symbols of wealth and status, but some people criticized the bidding procedure as unfair because those plates were bought by rich people, with ordinary citizens having no chance to compete.