Quick answer
Report the loss to the appropriate local authority and contact your own embassy or consulate through its official website. Ask both the consulate and local exit-entry authority what replacement travel document and Chinese paperwork you need. Do not assume a replacement passport alone lets you board your original flight.
Gather the information you still have
Keep copies of the passport details if available, your current accommodation address, entry details, upcoming bookings and a contact method. A copy helps explain your situation but is not automatically valid for travel or check-in.
If the document was left at a hotel, airport or transport facility, contact that organization’s official lost-property service promptly. If theft or another incident is involved, ask the police about a report. Keep the reference number and any document they issue.
Follow your nationality’s process
The linked UK guidance is for British nationals; the US guidance is for US citizens. They illustrate why the correct consular process matters. If you hold another passport, use that issuing country’s embassy in China, not an application intended for a different nationality.
Ask about appointments, photographs, fees, supporting documents and the destination permitted by an emergency travel document. If a passport has been formally cancelled, ask the issuing authority what to do if it is later found; do not simply travel with it again.
Confirm the Chinese side
NIA directs visitors with a lost passport to the local public-security exit-entry authority for a passport-loss certificate, then to their own embassy or consulate. After obtaining a new passport or temporary travel document, return to the Chinese authority for the required visa or other formalities. Ask which documents and deadlines apply to your own entry status. NIA 12367 can help direct an immigration inquiry. Save the official instructions and receipts so you can explain the status to a hotel, railway or airline.
Adjust bookings after checking requirements
Contact the airline or railway booking channel before making a new purchase. Ask which document it will accept and whether a name or document-number update is required. Avoid buying a non-refundable replacement flight until the necessary documents and realistic processing time are clear.
Keep support organized
Write down the police report reference, consular case number, local authority contact and next appointment. Store copies securely. Do not post an unredacted passport image on social media or submit it through this website’s feedback form.
Sources and review
Sources reviewed on 2026-09-10. These sources support the service or policy facts; the practical fallback steps are editorial guidance. This is not a recorded field test.