Why prepare emergency contacts in advance
A new resident in China is most exposed in the opening minutes of an incident, when stress is high and language help is thin. The task is straightforward: store the public-service contacts you would need before a crisis begins, not while it is unfolding. This piece sets out a practical preparation method built on national guidance and two city examples, and it marks where the ordinary path can stall.
Start from the national baseline
The State Council guide to working and living in China gives the national starting points for an emergency:
- Police: call 110 for personal assault or property crimes.
- Fire: call 119.
- First aid: call 120.
For a lost passport, the same national guidance says to report it to the local police station immediately. These national numbers are not tied to one city or one operator.
Knowing what each number is for matters as much as saving it. A fire report and a medical report reach different systems, and sending the wrong one costs the first minutes. Note the purpose next to each saved number.
Write your address in Chinese first
The Shanghai government says its 120 call service is in Chinese and can connect a translator with possible delay. For your own city, check the language arrangements. Before you need help, write your exact residential address in Chinese characters and keep it where you can show it fast. This can make it easier to communicate a location under pressure.
Confirm the phone itself will work
Check two things on the device you carry:
- It can place a call from the lock screen, without first unlocking.
- It can dial out while roaming, if you keep a foreign SIM or cross borders.
If either fails during a crisis, a written card with the numbers becomes your backup.
Keep a written card for non-Chinese speakers
Carry a small card with the national numbers, your Chinese address, and any local lines you rely on. Give a copy to a partner, a neighbour, or a colleague. If you cannot speak, someone else can hand over the card and read the Chinese address aloud.
One city example: Shanghai
The Shanghai emergency medical services page shows what a municipality publishes. To call an ambulance in Shanghai, dial 120, which the Shanghai Emergency Medical Center runs. Calls are handled in Chinese; staff can bring in a translator, though that may take time. The page also lists a hospital-run international emergency hotline, 021-2216-3999, staffed around the clock. The Shanghai page adds that a patient already in the ambulance can normally pick which hospital to go to, except in life-threatening situations, when crews take them to the closest appropriate facility.
Note the split: 120 is the national first-aid number, while 021-2216-3999 is one hospital's own line shown on the city page. Keep the hospital line as a provider contact, not a stand-in for the public number.
A second city publishes its own list
The Beijing medical guide for foreigners shows that another city issues its own emergency information. It states there are 120 emergency medical centres across the Chinese mainland and that in Beijing you may dial (+8610) 120. It also lists specific hospitals' 24-hour emergency numbers. None of these city or hospital lines should be read as national.
What to check when the ordinary path stalls
If the public line is in Chinese and you cannot follow it, the Shanghai example is useful: a translator can be brought in, but with delay. Your written card and prepared Chinese address close that gap. If your phone will not dial from the lock screen or while roaming, fall back to the written card and ask someone near you to call. If you hold a hospital international line such as Shanghai's 021-2216-3999, save it as a provider contact next to the public numbers.
The exact city and operator numbers, and any international-dial format such as (+8610) 120, must be verified for your own location. Published pages change, so confirm the current numbers for the city where you live before you rely on them. If you are still arranging your first weeks, the Expat China settling-in guide covers the broader setup.
Sources used
- State Council guide to working and living in China — national emergency numbers and the passport-loss step.
- Shanghai emergency medical services page — ambulance dialling and a hospital international hotline.
- Beijing medical guide for foreigners — city-published emergency lines.