Emergency

Save these numbers today

All four work nationwide, from any phone, free, without a SIM — and operators can connect English speakers in major cities.

110 Police 120 Medical 119 Fire 12367 Immigration

Screenshot this list, then add your hotel's Chinese address as a note — whoever helps you can see exactly where you are. Also save 12345 (city hotline — taxi overcharging, complaints; English in major cities).

Any time, day or night. The pattern is always the same: stop, get official help with a working phone, and get a piece of paper — report, receipt, certificate — for every official interaction. The paper is what insurance and embassies run on.

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Check items off as you handle them — your progress is saved on this device.

01 Screenshot the numbers + your hotel address Do it once, now: screenshot the four numbers above, and save a photo of your hotel's Chinese name and address (front desk has it, or photograph the sign). When you are flustered, showing an address beats explaining one.
02 Medical emergency Urgent but you can still move? Go straight to a public hospital's emergency department (急诊) — no phone call needed, and the ER triages you on arrival. Genuinely extreme — unconsciousness, heavy bleeding, minutes matter? Call 120: give your hotel's Chinese address and let the front desk talk to the crew; they do this weekly and speak the language. Ambulances use priority lanes a taxi can't. Not sure? Call 120 anyway — the call costs nothing and they will advise. Treatment is not refused for lack of payment, but a deposit is routine — carry your insurance policy.
03 Lost your passport In order: report the loss to the police and get a loss report (警察回执) → contact your embassy or consulate in China → apply for an emergency travel document. The embassy is the only route to a replacement document — hotels and travel agents cannot help with the document itself. Speed-up: photocopies of your passport and spare passport-style photos (bring some) cut days off the process. A police report is required before the embassy visit — get it first.
04 Lost your phone Try the obvious first: borrow any phone and call your own number — in China, finders usually answer and are happy to arrange a meet-up, because losing-and-returning is common and honesty is the norm. No answer? Retrace your steps (café, taxi, shop counter) — phones are usually where you left them. Truly gone: borrow a phone to call your carrier (suspend the SIM) and your bank (suspend mobile payment). Note that WeChat cannot be logged into from a computer without the phone's QR-scan — treat WeChat access as gone until you have a new SIM, and back up your WeChat contacts before you travel. Cloud copies of your documents are what make this a bad afternoon instead of a ruined trip.
05 Payment failing? Fix it in this order Try the other app → try the other card → ask a travel companion to pay and settle up later → use cash → as a last resort, call your card's international helpdesk. Working down this list calmly takes two minutes and solves almost every payment failure. Most are bank fraud blocks, not your mistake.
06 Visa or immigration trouble Unsure about your stay length, an extension, or anything border-related? Call 12367 — the immigration hotline has English service and the staff answer exactly these questions. Calling early is always cheaper than calling late: most immigration problems are routine when handled in time and expensive when they are not.
07 Recognize the common scams The three that actually catch visitors: "black cars" that approach you at airports and stations (ignore anyone who solicits — use the taxi queue or your app), the tea ceremony invitation (a friendly "student" invites you for tea; the bill is hundreds of yuan), and ultra-cheap day tours that are really shopping trips. One rule defuses all of them: every transaction happens inside an app or at a licensed counter, and you never follow a stranger to a second location.
08 Find your embassy or consulate China hosts embassies in Beijing and consulates in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenyang, Wuhan, Xi'an and more. Find yours through your own foreign ministry's "travel advice for China" page, or the Chinese MFA's official list of diplomatic missions. If your passport is lost or stolen, contact your embassy FIRST — they can issue emergency travel documents. Full details: see Essentials.
09 File an insurance claim Collect everything: police reports, hospital records, receipts, repair quotes, tickets. Photograph every document before you hand originals over. Most insurers want the claim filed within days, not weeks — start the paperwork while you are still in China, not after you get home.