Severity decides the door. Not fear, and not price.
Choose the appropriate care route by severity, not fear or price alone. Emergency numbers were rechecked against the government emergency guide on 1 November 2026. Ambulance costs, pharmacy hours and insurer direct billing are not current guarantees; no treatment, medicine or dose is recommended here. For a real emergency, call 120.
- What was checked
- The dated official and publisher references named in this guide's source section. Each reference explains the specific rule or instruction it supports.
- Known limits
- Prices, opening hours, availability and individual account or document eligibility are not live guarantees. Provider conditions and your actual route, passport, device and circumstances can change the answer.
| Number | Service | Call it for |
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Medical emergency | Chest pain, difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, heavy bleeding, a serious injury. |
| 119 | Fire and rescue | Fire, smoke, someone trapped, a rescue that needs equipment. |
| 110 | Police | A crime, a theft, an assault, a fight, someone who will not leave. |
| 122 | Road traffic | A collision on a road, including one with injuries. |
The address is the part that has to be ready.
An ambulance dispatcher works from an address, and a hotel's English name is not one. Keep the Chinese name, the street, the door number and the room written on your phone before you need them. If you cannot speak, hand the phone to the front desk.
Public tertiary hospital
Serious, complex or worsening problems
- Strength
- The deepest clinical capacity in the city, and the lowest bill for the same treatment.
- Cost of that
- Long queues, limited English, and a registration process that assumes a local ID card.
International or VIP department
A visitor who needs to be understood
- Strength
- Appointment-based, more English, shorter waits, and some departments bill insurers directly.
- Cost of that
- Costs more than the ordinary department for the same test.
Private or international clinic
Children, minor illness, a family that needs one language
- Strength
- English service, easy appointments, often direct billing.
- Cost of that
- Expensive, and a complex case may be referred onward to a public hospital anyway.
An international department is a door, not a different medicine.
The same hospital treats the same problem in both departments. What changes is the waiting time, the language and the bill. For a serious problem, the ordinary department of a strong public hospital is not the worse choice.
Build the record at the counter
A first visit creates a hospital record against the passport. Photographs and copies are not accepted for this step; the original document is what is scanned.
Choose the department, not the doctor
Registration is by department. If you do not know which one, ask the guidance desk with your main symptom and let them route you.
Pay before the test or the medicine
The order is consultation, payment, then test or collection. Being sent to a cashier is not a refusal; it is the sequence.
Keep every sheet
The invoice, the itemised charges, the diagnosis certificate, the record and the test report are five different documents, and a claim usually needs all five.
Ask when the result arrives
Some reports are ready the same day and some take one to three working days. Ask before you leave the building, because returning for a report is a second trip.
Ask for the diagnosis in writing
A written diagnosis with the hospital's stamp is what an insurer, an airline and an immigration officer will all accept. A screen photo of a result is not.
Payment comes earlier here than at home.
Consultation, then payment, then the test or the medicine. A visitor who expects to pay at the end reads the cashier as a refusal and argues at the wrong window. Ask where to pay, pay, and keep the receipt.
Green cross, then a pharmacist
Chain pharmacies are priced consistently and staffed by a licensed pharmacist. A convenience store selling medicine is not the same counter.
Describe the symptom in time and degree
'Fever of 38.5 since yesterday' routes to a different shelf than 'not feeling well'. Numbers and durations are the useful part.
Say what you are already taking
A pharmacist can avoid an interaction only if they know the list. Bring the packaging or a written list.
Ask for the dose on paper
Dosing instructions are printed in Chinese. Ask the pharmacist to write times per day, tablets per time and before or after food.
Know when the pharmacy is the wrong door
Chest pain, breathing difficulty, a head injury, a fever in a small child, or a symptom that is getting worse rather than settling. Those are hospital questions.
Opening hours are not uniform
Many close around 21:00 or 22:00 and some stay open all night. The green cross is lit at night where it is a 24-hour store; do not assume it.
Store the assistance number before you need it
The 24-hour line is printed on the policy and usually on a card. Save it offline in the phone, because a hospital basement has no signal.
Call before non-emergency treatment
The line can name in-network facilities and arrange direct billing. Arriving first and calling afterwards often converts a covered visit into a reimbursement claim.
Ask the hospital one question at the desk
'Do you bill international insurers directly?' A yes changes what you pay at the counter; a no means you pay and claim.
Collect five documents, not one receipt
Invoice, itemised charges, medical record, diagnosis certificate and test reports. Missing one is the most common reason a claim is returned.
Check what the policy excludes here
Adventure activity, a pre-existing condition and a pregnancy are the three common exclusions that a travel policy applies at the claim stage, not at the counter.
A clinic bill is not a negotiation
Public hospital prices are set administratively and are not discounted on request. Comparing facilities is useful; arguing at the cashier is not.
Direct billing is a property of the facility, not of your policy.
A policy that covers the treatment can still require you to pay first. Whether a hospital bills an overseas insurer is decided by that hospital's agreements. Ask the desk, and if the answer is no, collect the five documents on the way out.
Start before the permitted date, not after
An extension is applied for while the stay is still lawful. Once it has expired, the conversation changes from an application to a penalty.
Bring hospital evidence, stamped
A diagnosis, a treatment record and a doctor's note explaining why travel is not possible. An unstamped printout is not evidence.
Go to the exit-entry authority for that city
The application is handled by the exit-entry administration where you are staying, not by the hospital and not by the airline.
Tell the airline and the insurer the same day
A missed flight and a medical extension are two separate conversations with two separate deadlines, and both punish silence.
Keep the passport with you, not in a suitcase
Every step of this process needs the original document, often twice in one day.
This page is not immigration advice
Rules carry effective dates and your case has facts this page cannot see. The authority's answer, in writing, is the only one that protects you.
CHINESE HELP CARDS · WRITTEN FOR THESE SITUATIONS
Calling 120 and giving the address
Say the address first, then the problem, then your phone number. The dispatcher will ask again; that is normal.
我需要救护车。我们的地址是：（说酒店中文名、路名、门牌号、房间号）。有人（说明症状：胸痛／呼吸困难／昏迷／大量出血），已经（多少）分钟。我的电话是：（号码）。我是外国游客，不会说中文，请说慢一点。At the emergency triage desk
Hand over the passport with the card. Triage happens before payment, so nobody will refuse to look at the patient.
这是病人，这是护照原件。他／她从（时间）开始（症状）。有（高血压／糖尿病／心脏病）病史，对（药物）过敏，正在服用（药名）。请问现在需要先去分诊还是先挂号？谢谢。Registering as a first-time foreign patient
Say 'first time' clearly. A first visit needs a record built at the counter, and that is a separate step from the appointment.
您好，我是第一次来这家医院，是外国游客。请问建档在哪个窗口？我需要带护照原件吗？我想挂（科室）的号。请问今天还有号吗？如果没有，最近的号是哪一天？谢谢。Giving a history the doctor can use
Hand over the written list. Reading a medication name from a card is more reliable than pronouncing it.
这是我在吃的药，药名和剂量都写在这张纸上。我对（青霉素／磺胺／海鲜／花生）过敏。我有（哮喘／糖尿病／高血压／心脏病）。上个月做过（手术／检查）。请把诊断和用药写在纸上给我，我需要给保险公司。谢谢。Paying and getting the right paperwork
Ask for the invoice and the itemised list together. A receipt alone is usually not enough for a claim.
您好，我要缴费。请问可以刷国际信用卡吗？可以用支付宝吗？我需要发票、费用明细、病历和诊断证明，回本国申请保险理赔要用。请问这些在哪里开？需要多长时间？谢谢。At a pharmacy counter
Describe the symptom, not the brand. The pharmacist stocks the local equivalent, not the name you know.
您好，我（发烧38度／拉肚子两天／咳嗽有痰／嗓子疼）。我没有药物过敏。请给我适合成人的药，不要处方药。请把用法和用量写在这张纸上：一天几次，一次几片，饭前还是饭后。谢谢。Use these cards to communicate during a clinic visit. Fill in symptoms, times, allergies and medicines before showing a card. This is communication support, not medical advice.
Do I need an appointment?
Strongly recommended for a normal clinic visit, because popular departments run out of same-day slots. An emergency department is open 24 hours and needs no appointment.
Can I use my passport instead of an ID card?
Yes, and it must be the original. Registration at a Chinese hospital is built on a real document; a copy or a photo will be refused at the counter.
Will anyone speak English?
An international department or a private clinic usually has someone. An ordinary public department often does not, which is why the written card and a translation app matter more than vocabulary.
How much does an emergency call cost?
An ambulance within the city is charged, and the amount varies by city and by distance. The hospital treatment is billed separately and is not waived by the ambulance fee.
Can I pay with a foreign card?
Many hospital cashiers accept international cards and the payment apps, and some international departments bill insurers directly. Carry a backup method, because a single cashier terminal can be down.
Is travel insurance required for entry?
Do not treat a blog as the answer. Check the current entry requirement for your passport and route on the immigration authority's own page, and buy cover for the care you would actually want.
What if I need a prescription medicine I take at home?
Bring your own supply in original packaging with the prescription, and carry a written list of the generic names. A local equivalent may exist under a different brand, and the pharmacist can only match it if they know the molecule.
Official and publisher references used in this guide
These are external references. They are not live availability, price, approval or service guarantees, and each date marks the point after which a rule may have changed.
Common emergency numbers: 110, 119, 120, 122
Police 110, fire 119, ambulance 120, traffic accident 122. These are the numbers to keep on a phone lock screen; they are not a translation service and do not replace the local emergency instructions at a site.
National Healthcare Security Administration
The body behind public medical insurance. Visitors generally pay as self-payers, so read this as context for how the system is financed rather than as a route to coverage for a foreign passport.
China CDC: health advice and disease information
Seasonal health advice and outbreak information published in Chinese. Useful when a symptom pattern is spreading locally; not a substitute for a clinician who has examined you.
12315: consumer complaint and report channel
The official route for a consumer dispute over a meal, a delivery order or a purchase. It records a complaint; it does not order a refund, send an inspector to your table, or act as an emergency line.
National Immigration Administration: English service portal
Entry, stay and residence administration in English, including the arrival-card and hotel-registration topics a longer stay runs into. Rules carry their own effective dates; check the date on the page instead of assuming this guide is newer.
Food safety: five keys and the burden of foodborne illness
General food-safety principles that travel with you regardless of country. It is not a judgment about any specific restaurant in China and cannot certify that a particular dish is safe for you.
Updates and corrections
The dates above apply only to the checks described here. Recheck current prices, opening hours, availability and account or document eligibility with the responsible provider before you rely on them. When an official rule changes, the affected guidance and its review date should be updated. To report a specific change, email support@slowchinaguide.com with the place, date and current source.
Send a correctionWhat this guide does and does not do
This guide turns practical questions and dated references into steps you can follow. It is not a booking service, a live price list or a substitute for a clinician, a lawyer or the staff responsible for your actual situation.
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