China Emergency Contacts: Numbers, Hotlines & Embassies

China doesn't use a single emergency number like 911 or 112. Instead, the system is split by service type: 110 for police, 120 for an ambulance, and 119 for fire. These three are the ones to memorize, and all three are free to call from any phone, including pay phones. The catch most visitors don't expect is that operators usually answer in Chinese, with limited English support outside a few major cities. This page is a complete reference you can save or print before your trip: every number worth knowing, what each one is for, what to say when you call, and the consular contacts for several major embassies in Beijing.

The three numbers that matter most

If you remember nothing else, remember these. They work nationwide, they're free, and you dial them directly with no area code.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Government's international services guide, 110 can also be used as a catch-all for any emergency — if you call the wrong line, the operator will redirect you. When in doubt, dial 110.

Will the operator speak English?

This is the honest answer most guides skip: usually not. Operators on the national 110, 120 and 119 lines typically speak Chinese, and English support is limited and not guaranteed across the country. In some cases the operator will call you back with someone who can interpret, but you shouldn't count on it.

There are two confirmed exceptions worth knowing:

• Shanghai's 110 hotline offers support in eight foreign languages — English, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Arabic and Korean.
• Beijing and Shanghai's 12345 service hotlines (covered below) have strong multilingual support, though they're for non-emergencies.

If you don't speak Chinese and you're calling an emergency line, the practical move is to have a Chinese-speaking person help — a hotel front desk, a passerby, or a translation app with voice. Say your location first and clearly; that's the single most important piece of information.

What to say when you call

Emergency calls go faster when you lead with the right information. Here's what dispatchers need for each line.

Calling 110 (police)

• State the time and location of the incident, your name, and a contact number.
• If you're not sure of the exact address, describe nearby landmarks or large buildings.
• Keep your phone on — police may call back to confirm details.
• When a patrol car approaches, wave to flag it down.

Calling 120 (ambulance)

• Give a detailed address and the patient's condition or key symptoms (for example: vomiting blood, unconscious, fell from height).
• Share your contact information.
• Send someone to wait at the building entrance or nearest intersection to guide the ambulance in.
• Let the dispatcher hang up first — they may have more questions or instructions.

Calling 119 (fire)

• State the exact location clearly — street name, lane, house number, and visible landmarks.
• Describe the emergency (fire, explosion, chemical leak) and whether anyone is trapped or injured.
• Give your contact details.

Does an ambulance cost money?

Yes. Unlike the police and fire lines, 120 ambulance service is not free. The charge typically combines a pre-hospital first-aid fee and an ambulance vehicle fee, and rates vary by city. Beijing's official price list, for example, sets in-city medical transport at 120 RMB per person plus a vehicle use fee, with long-distance cross-province transfers charged by distance. You'll be billed afterward, so cost should never stop you from calling in a real emergency — but it's why this is worth knowing in advance, and another reason to carry travel insurance.

This is also a good moment to think about where you'd be taken. For non-life-threatening situations, you may prefer to reach a specific hospital with English-speaking staff rather than the nearest facility. Our guide to finding English-speaking hospitals covers how to plan that ahead of time.

Other useful numbers

Beyond the big three, a handful of specialized lines can be genuinely useful depending on the situation.

The 12110 SMS alarm is a lesser-known but important option. It was rolled out nationwide by the Ministry of Public Security as a supplement to 110, and it's the right channel if you genuinely cannot speak — though for ordinary emergencies a voice call to 110 is still faster.

The 12345 hotline: your best bet for non-emergencies and complaints

For anything that isn't a true emergency — a forced purchase by a tour guide, a taxi scam, a service dispute, lost-and-found questions, or general living and transport queries — the number to know is 12345. It's China's 24/7 non-emergency public service hotline, run city by city, and it's explicitly open to foreigners. From abroad, dial +86 followed by the city code and 12345.

What makes 12345 especially useful for visitors is the multilingual support in the biggest cities:

• Beijing 12345 operates in 10 languages including English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese and Italian. Dial (+86 10) 12345. See the Beijing 12345 official page for details.
• Shanghai 12345 is a 24-hour line available in Chinese plus 18 foreign languages, and aims to respond within 24 hours. Dial +86 21 12345. More on the Shanghai 12345 page.

One note for travelers who've seen older guides: the former national tourism hotline 12301 has been merged into local 12345 lines, per a Ministry of Culture and Tourism circular. Tourism complaints and enquiries should now go to 12345, although a few regions may still cite 12301 in legacy listings.

Embassy and consular contacts in Beijing

If you lose your passport, are arrested, are hospitalized, or face any serious incident, your embassy or consulate is the place to turn for consular assistance. Below are the Beijing embassy contacts for several countries; most also have consulates-general in cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan, with their own emergency lines — check your government's travel site for the consulate nearest you.

United States

U.S. Embassy Beijing: No. 55 An Jia Lou Lu, Beijing 100600. American citizens with emergencies call 010-8531-4000 (after hours 010-8531-3000; from outside China +86 10-8531-4000). Switchboard +86-10 8531-3000, email [email protected]. The U.S. also runs a 24/7 worldwide assistance line: +1-202-501-4444 from abroad, or +1-888-407-4747 from the US and Canada. See the U.S. Embassy Beijing contact page.

United Kingdom

British Embassy Beijing: 11 Guang Hua Lu, Jian Guo Men Wai, 100600 Beijing. General enquiries +86 (0)10 5192 4000; consular assistance for British nationals +86 (0)10 8529 6600. For emergencies, the FCDO advises using its help service and contact form — details on the GOV.UK British Embassy Beijing page.

Australia

Australian Embassy Beijing: 21 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600. Phone +86 10 5140 4111 (after hours, press 1 for the Consular Emergency Centre). The 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre can also be reached directly at +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas) or 1300 555 135 (within Australia). See the Australian Embassy China contact page.

Canada

Embassy of Canada, Beijing: 19 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100600. Phone +86 (10) 5139-4000, email [email protected]. Emergency consular assistance is available 24/7, and you can also reach the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa (collect call +1 613 996-8885). Details on the Government of Canada embassies page.

If you're from a country not listed here — Japan, Germany, France, South Korea and others all maintain embassies in Beijing and consulates in major cities — look up your mission's official contact before you travel rather than relying on third-party aggregators, which sometimes list outdated numbers. Our dedicated guide to embassy contacts goes into more detail by country.

Save-and-print checklist

Run through this before you leave home, and keep a copy somewhere you can reach without unlocking your phone — a wallet card or a hotel notepad.

• 110 — Police (free, nationwide)
• 120 — Ambulance (free to call; the ride is charged)
• 119 — Fire (free, nationwide)
• 122 — Traffic accidents
• 12345 — Non-emergency / complaints / tourist issues (multilingual in Beijing & Shanghai)
• 12110 — SMS police alarm (add local area-code's last 3 digits)
• ☐ Your embassy's emergency consular number, saved in your phone
• ☐ Your hotel's full Chinese address, screenshotted
• ☐ Your travel insurance emergency assistance number and policy number
• ☐ A working data SIM or eSIM so you can call and translate

Before you call: a few practical realities

A working phone connection matters more than people realize. Make sure you have a functioning Chinese SIM or eSIM with data, both so you can place calls and so you can use a translation app to communicate. Our China SIM card & eSIM guide walks through the options.

It's also worth reading up on the broader picture of staying safe and healthy on the ground — what's likely to go wrong, and how to avoid it in the first place. The safety tips for travelers and health & medical care guides cover the everyday side of this, and if you lose your passport specifically, the lost passport in China walkthrough takes you step by step.

The bottom line

China's emergency system is straightforward once you know it's split by service: 110 for police, 120 for medical, 119 for fire — all free, all dialed directly. The real-world challenge is language, so save your location in Chinese, keep your phone charged with data, and don't hesitate to enlist a Chinese speaker to help on the line. For anything short of a true emergency — scams, disputes, complaints — 12345 is the better number, and in Beijing and Shanghai it answers in your language. Finally, save your embassy's consular emergency contact and your insurance assistance number before you go. Five minutes of preparation now is worth a great deal if something goes wrong.

For the official word, the Shanghai Government's emergency guidance and the Chinese central government's emergency numbers guide are good reference points to check before you travel.

Last updated: June 2026