Updated July 10, 2020
Traveling to China without knowing Mandarin Chinese could be a very adventurous task. Although China is a very safe country to live/travel, keep in mind, China is big too. In fact, massively big! China is larger than the USA!
And if you don’t know how to use Baidu, the Chinese search and navigation App, it’s very easy for an expat like you to get lost in China. 🙂
Not to mention, you are recommended to keep a list of emergency helpline/contact numbers handy when you travel to China.
Let’s quickly look at a list of some of the emergency helpline numbers in China. They should work in most of the parts of China (China’s ISD code: +86).
Emergency Helpline Numbers in China
If you have to remember just one helpline number, remember the police helpline number, it’s 110. This should be the first number to get in touch when you have an emergency in China (and don’t really know the other helpline numbers).
Enquiries and Complaints
For train/railway inquiries, call 12306. In case you have lost your luggage/baggage, or wish to know the train schedules, ticket information, just dial 12306.
Anytime if you are looking for a help, feel free to contact these helpline numbers. Most of them have English speaking representatives to answer you.
In case you are bombarded with Mandarin Chinese on the helpline, you’d better ask someone to help. Chinese people are generally very helpful, especially to the foreigners.
Chinese Bank Contact Numbers
Most of the Chinese banks have English-speaking customer service representatives (on helplines). I have personally interacted with them on numerous occasions, it works fairly well.
Airline and Airport Helplines
Mobile Operators
All the Chinese mobile service operators provide customer helpline service in English.
Express Delivery, Parcels
If you have lost your parcel or wish to find tracking information, these helpline numbers should be helpful.
If you have an emergency while you are traveling (such as fire or traffic accidents) or other trouble, the aforementioned emergency helpline/telephone numbers would be useful for you.
Have a safe trip to China!