Yang Shenghong, who works at the Mingxing Driving School in Yancheng City, has a "family heirloom" - a bicycle license from 1973, which is turning 40 this year. On September 16, when a reporter came to interview him, Yang Shenghong carefully took out a sealed transparent plastic bag from his pocket. Inside was the red certificate, a soft copy of the bicycle license from that year. A metal hard copy with blue lettering was also included, with the license plate number 00818. "Such a good license plate number, you can't buy it now." Yang Shenghong said with a smile.

　　Metal hard copy with blue lettering

　　Inner page of a bicycle license from 40 years ago

　　In those days, when bicycles were a "luxury item", a bicycle license was a sacred document. When riding, it had to be carried with the bicycle, just like a "motor vehicle driver's license" today. The precautions in the certificate also bore the mark of that era. The first item was "Hold high the great red banner of Mao Zedong Thought, model the observance of traffic rules, submit to inspection and mutual supervision." This discipline is not common in today's driving instructions. Other clauses are mostly traffic rules and driving safety matters.

　　"I still have dozens of various tax plates in my old home in Jianhu," Yang Shenghong introduced. In the 1970s, bicycles on the road had to pay annual vehicle taxes, and a tax plate would be issued after payment. The color, shape, and material of the annual tax plates were different; there were round, square, and even shield-shaped ones. The materials included plastic and metal. Each tax plate was about the size of a coin. At that time, cyclists would string the tax plates on their keychains and hang them on their belts for easy inspection."

　　Speaking of the history of this "family heirloom", Yang Shenghong was full of pride, "There are few people in Yancheng who still keep this kind of bicycle soft and hard copy from 40 years ago." This bicycle license, which is the same age as Yang Shenghong, was a "company car" assigned to his father, Yang Jun, when he worked as a postman at the Jianhu County Post and Telecommunications Bureau. Yang Jun rode this bicycle every day, rain or shine, delivering letters to thousands of households until his retirement.

　　In Yang Shenghong's memory, that green bicycle was a Shanghai Forever brand. When he was a child, while other students walked to school, Yang Shenghong would sit on the back seat of his father's bicycle. "At that time, my classmates were very envious of me."

　　With the improvement of living conditions, the bicycles assigned to his father Yang Jun by the unit became more and more advanced. "He (his father) was the first person in Jianhu County to drive a motorcycle, and he also started driving a car relatively early." Yang Shenghong said, showing a 1977 motor vehicle driver's license. "I keep them all; they are very meaningful." Influenced by his father since childhood, Yang Shenghong developed a strong interest in driving and is now a driving school instructor. "It can be considered as inheriting his father's career."