China Emergency Numbers & How to Get Medical Help (2026)

Not an emergency?

12345 is the government service line for non-urgent problems — tourist complaints, overcharging, permits. Some cities have English-speaking staff, but only in office hours. It is not a 24-hour service, and it is never the right number in an emergency.

If you need a doctor

For anything urgent, go to the emergency department of the nearest hospital — it is open 24 hours. Do not go looking for an international clinic: those are outpatient services with office hours.

• •急诊 Emergency department. Every public hospital has one, and it never closes.
• •Hospitals must stabilise life-threatening emergencies, and registration and payment can be sorted out afterwards. You will still be asked to pay, so do not count on free treatment.
• •Take your passport. Foreign documents usually have to be handled at a staffed counter — the self-service kiosks normally need a Chinese ID card.
• •Payment works as it does everywhere else in China: usually Alipay or WeChat Pay with your international card, with cash as a backup. Expect to settle each step as you go.
• •国际医疗部 International medical department. Ask for it for non-urgent problems, or if you want to be seen in English — a large public hospital has one, but it keeps office hours.
• •特需门诊 Premium outpatient clinic. A different thing from the above, and it may not have English-speaking staff.
• •Private international hospitals such as United Family, Raffles and Parkway are the option with reliable English and direct billing to your insurer.

If you are claiming on travel insurance

Ask at the counter for three documents. Insurers routinely refuse a claim that is missing any of them.

• •发票 — official receipt
• •费用明细清单 — itemised bill
• •诊断证明 — diagnosis certificate

• •Call your insurer’s 24-hour assistance line before an evacuation or any large expense. Most policies will not pay for those if you arrange them yourself first.

Before you fly

• •Save this page to your phone, or print it. This site cannot be opened from inside mainland China, and you will want it there rather than here.
• •Write your allergies, chronic conditions and current medications out in Chinese, in your phone notes and on paper. A specific list is far safer than a generic phrase.
• •Save your hotel’s name and address in Chinese, your embassy’s consular emergency number, and your insurer’s 24-hour line.
• •Carry your passport — you need it for hospital registration as well as hotel check-in.