Emergency help in mainland China

1. Get away from immediate danger if it is safe to move. Ask a nearby staff member for help.
2. Contact the right service above. Describe the situation and follow the operator’s questions and instructions.
3. Make yourself easy to find. Give the city, street, building and floor, plus a nearby landmark or entrance. Arrange a safe meeting point with the responder.
4. Once help is arranged, contact your hotel, a trusted person and your insurer as appropriate. Keep reference numbers and records when safe; collecting evidence should not delay urgent help.

Say the location first

Use this order: where you are → what happened → who needs help → a callback number. Show a map pin, street sign or your hotel’s Chinese address to someone assisting you. A hotel name alone may identify the wrong branch.

If you do not speak Chinese

Ask for English, but do not assume every city or service can provide it immediately. Ask hotel reception, station staff, security staff or another nearby person to help explain. The Chinese cards below can help you ask for that assistance.

If a call does not connect

Use the phone’s calling app. If your travel SIM only provides data, your phone has no service, or a short-number call fails, ask staff to call from another working phone. Do not wait for an internet message, translation app or a reply through this website.

Tell the helper your current location, not just the address saved in your booking. Prepare a Chinese address card when planning ahead.

For a serious medical emergency, call 120 and follow the operator’s instructions. Do not delay that call while searching for an English-speaking clinic or contacting an insurer.

For care that is not an emergency, ask your insurer or hotel to help identify an appropriate medical facility and confirm opening hours and language support. 急诊 means the emergency department; 门诊 means an outpatient clinic.

If readily available, bring your passport, insurance contact/policy details, a list of medicines and allergies, and a way to pay. Explain if documents are missing rather than postponing urgent help to fetch them.

Medical treatment is not free. Ask the facility and insurer how payment and any direct billing work; do not assume a foreign policy is accepted at the desk. Keep invoices and medical records for a claim. Follow a clinician’s advice about treatment and onward travel.

1. Report the loss promptly. Ask local police and the public-security exit-entry office about the official passport-loss report or certificate. For theft, also retain the crime-report reference.
2. Contact your own embassy or consulate. Confirm the appointment, evidence, photographs, fees and replacement or emergency travel document required for your nationality.
3. Return to the Chinese exit-entry authority as directed. A replacement passport alone may not complete the Chinese visa/stay or departure formalities. Ask what applies to your entry status and what deadline applies.
4. Check travel and hotel arrangements. Confirm acceptable documents with your hotel, airline or railway before buying a new ticket. Securely keep copies of your identity, entry details, reports and bookings.

If a reported passport is later found, check with the issuing authority before using it. Read the full lost-passport guide.

1. Get to a safe staffed place and ask the venue or transport provider about lost property. Do not go to an unsafe location alone to retrieve a phone.
2. Use the manufacturer’s official lost-device service from a trusted device to locate or lock it if available. A remote action may depend on account access and the missing device’s connectivity.
3. Protect your number and payment accounts. Contact the mobile operator and bank/wallet provider through verified support channels. Never give a helper your password, passcode or verification code.
4. Recover the essentials: your hotel and next booking, a Chinese address, a way to pay, and an authorized callback number. A new SIM does not automatically recover accounts linked to your old number.

Open the full phone-loss plan and official Apple/Android help.

Contact the embassy or consulate of your own country, using its official website. Check which office serves your current city and its out-of-hours instructions before travelling to the office.

Consular assistance can include guidance after passport loss, serious injury, a crime or detention, and help contacting family. The assistance available depends on your nationality and circumstances. It does not replace local responders, pay your bills or override local law.

• British nationals: British Embassy Beijing and consular help
• Australian citizens: consular services in China
• U.S. citizens: China contacts and official guidance

For another nationality, use your government’s official embassy or consulate locator. A Chinese embassy abroad is not the office that replaces a foreign visitor’s passport in China. Keep your current location, nationality and a callback number ready.