Emergencies in China — who to call, and what comes after
An emergency in China usually ends three times: the ambulance or the police come, the paperwork starts, and then the trip you had planned has to be rebuilt. The first one has to be you. The second and third are phone calls in Mandarin, and they are frequently where the money and the days actually get lost.
Need us to make the call?
Emergency Rescue — $59. One stuck call, made in Chinese, reported back to you in English.
Pay $59 with PayPalNot sure it fits what you need? Message me on WeChat 13368344745 first and describe the problem. I'll tell you honestly if I can help.
What I do in and around an emergency
- The calls to your embassy, consulate and the local exit-entry office for the documents a lost passport creates
- The insurer's questions — which police report, which hospital receipt, which reference number they need and in what format
- Hospital follow-up: appointment changes, whether a department registers foreign patients, what a bill does and doesn't cover
- Airline and train changes after a hospital stay or a police report — refunds, rebooking, medical-certificate rules
- Hotel and booking changes, including deposits a hotel won't release after a cancelled stay
- Chasing the police report, the loss certificate or the item that went missing
- The company calls attached to a theft or loss — bank, card issuer, phone carrier, insurer, employer
What I can't be
- I am not an emergency service. I can't dispatch anyone and I don't replace 110, 120, 119 or 122. If I'm asleep, on another call, or you haven't paid me yet, the emergency number still works — use it.
- I'm not medically trained. I don't interpret symptoms, scans, treatment options or results.
- I'm not an embassy or consulate. I can't issue a travel document, I have no consular authority, and I'm not affiliated with any government body.
- I can't speed anything up. I can only make the call, ask the right question, and tell you the answer — including when the answer is no.
- I'm not 24/7. Beijing time 09:00–01:00. Outside those hours the emergency numbers are the only answer that matters anyway; I'll pick up the rest when I'm back.
How it works
- Emergency first: call 110 / 120 / 119 / 122 yourself, or get someone nearby — a hotel front desk, a bystander — to call and hand you the phone.
- Then message me on WeChat with what happened, where you are, and what needs sorting next: a document, a report, a rebooking, a refund.
- I make the Mandarin calls in the right order and send you a written English summary of what each office or company said, and what you need to do.
Questions people ask before paying
Police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119, and traffic accidents 122. All four are free from any phone in China — including a foreign SIM and a public payphone — and they connect straight to a dispatcher. If you don't speak Mandarin, ask a bystander or your hotel front desk to call and hand you the phone; that is faster than any paid service, including mine.
No. China On-Call is a private phone-assistance service, not an emergency service: I can't dispatch police or an ambulance, and routing an emergency through a third party delays it. What I handle is everything after — embassy and exit-entry paperwork, insurance reports, hospital follow-up, and airline or hotel changes.
In most cases: report the loss at the police station covering where it happened and get the loss certificate; then contact your own country's embassy or consulate, because only they can issue a replacement travel document; then go to the local exit-entry administration (出入境管理局) for the visa or stay formalities. The order matters because the paper trail is cumulative. I can call each office first to confirm what they need, so you don't queue twice.
I can call your insurer about the claim requirements, your embassy if your documents were taken, your airline or train operator about the trip you're missing, and the hospital's administrative office about registration and billing. I can't give medical advice, and I won't make or relay a medical decision.
Beijing time 09:00 to 01:00. If something happens at 03:00, the emergency numbers are the only answer that matters anyway — I'll pick up the rest when I'm back on.
Send me the details and I'll make the call
WeChat 13368344745 — tell me what's stuck and I'll confirm what I need to fix it.
Pay $59 with PayPalRelated
- Emergencies in China: police, ambulance & lost passport
- Contact the police in China (non-emergency)
- Lost passport in China: who to call, in what order