The vendors exhibit their wares proudly, separating them into a spectrum of premium, regular and discount. Signs highlighting the ''specials of the day'' entice shoppers looking for a cherished commodity in today's China: lucky cell-phone numbers.

For Chinese executives, homemakers and students, prestige with a mobile phone is less about Nokia, Ericsson or Motorola than about 6, 8 and 9. Across the country, stores have window displays with their best numbers. A 9 in the number might signal longevity, whereas 168 might bring ''a road of prosperity.''

Auspicious license plates, telephone numbers and contract prices have long been in the sights of the numerically conscious in Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. But with 65 million users, China's exploding mobile-phone market has provided the latest numerological bonanza.

In large cities, auctions lure hundreds of buyers with special numbers set aside by mobile phone companies. One number fetched nearly $40,000 at a charity auction in August in Zhengzhou, Henan Province.