TRAVEL GUIDE · CHINA

Getting help in China: an emergency-preparation guide for visitors

Keep key information offline and know who can help before a stressful moment arrives.

Traveller asking hotel staff for help — Image source: AI-generated image created for Seeing China. No real personal data or brands are shown.

In an emergency, focus first on immediate safety. Keep your hotel’s Chinese address, passport copy, insurance policy number and emergency contacts where you can reach them without mobile data.

Ask the closest reliable person for help

Hotel reception, station staff and a trusted local contact can help communicate a location and direct you to the appropriate service.

Contact your insurer early

For medical care or transport, contact the insurer’s assistance service as early as possible and keep receipts and documents.

Keep records and contact official support

For lost documents or a serious incident, record what happened and contact the relevant local authority and your embassy or consulate as appropriate.

Preparation does not remove risk, but it makes it easier to ask for the right help quickly.

Prepare one calm emergency sequence

In an emergency, the useful plan is short: get to safety, contact the appropriate service, communicate the location, preserve records and notify the person or organization that can assist next.

Identify the problem and location

China commonly uses 110 for police, 120 for ambulance and 119 for fire. Give the city, district, street, building or nearby landmark and keep the line open for questions. Numbers and dispatch practices can change or differ in special areas, so confirm current local information at the hotel on arrival.

Carry an emergency information card

Keep your passport name, nationality, accommodation, emergency contact, insurer and essential medical information in English and Chinese. Include allergies and necessary medication without exposing unnecessary financial data. Store a paper copy separately from the phone.

Record what happened

After immediate safety needs are met, note the time, location and organizations contacted. Obtain written medical, police, transport or property reports when relevant. Contact the insurer or consular service through an official channel and follow their evidence instructions rather than relying on an unsolicited intermediary.

Plan for a lost phone or passport

Write the accommodation address and one trusted contact on paper. If a phone is lost, protect payment and email accounts from another trusted device and use the official service’s lost-device process. For a lost passport, report the circumstances to the appropriate local authority and contact the issuing country’s embassy or consulate through its published number. Keep copies for identification support, but understand that a copy is not a travel document and does not replace official replacement procedures.

Avoid secondary harm

Do not move an injured person unless there is an immediate danger, and do not accept medicine from an unknown source. In a traffic or payment dispute, move to a safe public place and preserve photographs, receipts and app records without escalating the confrontation. Tell a trusted contact where you are. If someone claiming to be an official asks for payment or account access, verify the request through the published number of the relevant organization.

Useful phrases

请帮我报警。Please help me call the police.

我需要救护车。I need an ambulance.

我现在在这个地址。I am at this address now.

Before departure

Emergency numbers saved

Bilingual information card carried

Insurance and consular contacts offline

Accommodation address available on paper

Official references