A report is a document. Everything after it depends on that paper.
Keep the report, reference number and documents that the next step depends on. The four emergency numbers were rechecked against the government emergency guide on 1 November 2026. General safety impressions are not crime statistics, and consular procedures depend on your mission's current requirements.
- 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.
Cross where the locals cross
Scooters treat a red light as a suggestion and a shared pavement as a lane. Look right before you step off a kerb, because the near lane comes from the right.
Carry the day's cash, not the trip's
Two payment methods and a small amount of cash cover a normal day. A wallet holding every card and every note is a single point of failure.
The tea-house invitation is a scam
A friendly stranger who suggests a traditional tea ceremony, an art show or a 'student practice' conversation is running a bill-splitting scam. Decline and keep walking.
Know the four numbers
110 police, 119 fire, 120 medical, 122 road traffic. They work from any phone, including one without a local SIM in most cases.
Photograph the plate, not the argument
After a collision or a near miss, photograph the vehicle, the plate and the scene. Then move out of the road and call 122.
Temple and park steps are unlit at dusk
Most injuries a visitor treats are a fall on an unlit step or a wet stone surface. A phone torch and closed shoes prevent most of them.
The four numbers, once more, without a phone tree.
Police 110, fire and rescue 119, medical 120, road traffic 122. These are national short numbers, not a city service, and they are the fastest route to a human in an emergency.
Book the ride before the train arrives
A ride ordered from the platform, with the pickup point named in Chinese, removes the walk to a rank at midnight.
Tell the hotel the train number
A property that knows you are on a delayed train holds the room and expects you. One that does not may release it.
Keep the address offline and in Chinese
A screenshot of the booking in English does not help a driver. Save the Chinese name, street and door number as a note that opens without a network.
Use the station's official taxi rank
Follow the signs to the rank rather than accepting an offer inside the hall. An unlicensed driver who approaches you is the one to refuse.
Arrive before the last metro, or plan not to
Last trains are earlier than in most European cities. If the arrival is close to that line, decide on a taxi before you are standing in an empty concourse.
A dead phone is a transport problem
Carry a small power bank and a charging cable in the bag you keep with you, not in the suitcase in the luggage rack.
One message to the hotel changes the night.
Send the train number and the expected time before you board. A property that is expecting a late check-in keeps the room; one that is not may treat the booking as a no-show.
Go to a police station, not a patrol officer
A report is written at a station. A officer on the street can point you to the right one, but cannot usually produce the document.
Bring the passport copy and the hotel address
Both facts appear on the report, and both are things you can no longer look up if the phone went with the wallet.
Ask for a stamped copy, in your hand
The stamp is what makes the paper usable for an insurer or an immigration desk. Without it you are holding a description of an event.
Write the facts before you speak
Time, place, what was taken, what it contained, and who else was there. A written list survives a language barrier better than memory does.
A translator on the phone is allowed
Calling a friend or a hotel desk to interpret is normal practice. Ask the officer before you put the phone on speaker.
Do not pay for a report
A police report for a theft is not a service you purchase. A request for a fee is the moment to walk to the main desk and ask again.
Ask for the stamped copy before you leave.
An embassy, an insurer, a hotel and an airline will all ask for the same document. A verbal assurance that a report exists has never satisfied any of them, and returning for it costs another half day.
Report the loss at a police station
Ask for the written record and a stamped copy. This is the document the embassy and the exit-entry authority will both require.
Contact your own embassy or consulate
Ask what they need for a replacement travel document: photographs, the police report, an application form, a fee and usually an appointment.
Book the appointment, not the flight
A replacement takes working days. Confirm the earliest collection date before you touch an airline booking.
Apply for the exit permission
The exit-entry administration handles leaving on a replacement document. Bring the new document, the police report and your old entry details if you have them.
Tell the hotel and the insurer the same day
A property needs to record the document you now hold, and a policy usually has a notification window.
Move the flight, keep the receipts
Replacement fees, photographs, transport to the embassy and a changed ticket are all claimable items if you keep the paper.
Do not skip the police report because it feels slow.
It is tempting to go straight to the embassy. Without a report, the loss is not established, the insurer has nothing to attach a claim to, and the exit desk has no record of why your document changed.
Revoke the payment app from another device
Both major payment apps can be signed out remotely and the card unlinked. That is the first action, before the police report.
Freeze the bank card, not just the phone
A phone that held a payment app held a funding source. Call the issuing bank's lost-card line, which is printed on the back of a card you still have at home.
Keep one paper copy of the trip
Train numbers, hotel addresses, the insurance number and the embassy number on one folded sheet. It weighs nothing and works when nothing else does.
A dead battery is the same emergency
A power bank in the day bag, and a cable you have actually tested with that bank. Both are cheaper than a midnight taxi you cannot call.
Log out before you hand a phone over for repair
A repair shop needs the device, not your accounts. Sign out of payment, mail and the apps that hold tickets.
A second device is not paranoia
An old phone with a local SIM, or a tablet with the bookings downloaded, turns a lost device into an inconvenience.
Sign the payment app out before you file the report.
A stolen phone with a live payment app is a funding problem, not a Lost Property problem. Remote sign-out and a card freeze are faster than any police process and do not require a Chinese speaker.
Find the mission that covers where you are
It is not always the one in the capital. Consulates have geographic districts, and calling the wrong one costs a day.
An embassy issues documents, not money
Most missions will not pay a hospital bill, a hotel bill or a flight. They can contact family and help you arrange a transfer.
They cannot overrule a Chinese decision
A visa refusal, an overstay penalty or an entry refusal is decided by the Chinese authority. A consular officer can advise, not reverse it.
Keep the twenty-four-hour number offline
The emergency line is different from the visa enquiry line, and it is the one that answers at 3 a.m.
Register your trip if your country offers it
Some foreign ministries notify registered travellers during a local emergency. It takes two minutes at home and does nothing once you are here.
The report is the shared language
Embassy, insurer, hotel and airline all read the same stamped report. Getting it right at the start saves four conversations.
CHINESE HELP CARDS · WRITTEN FOR THESE SITUATIONS
Reporting a theft
Give the place and the time first. The report is written from those two facts.
您好，我要报案。我的（护照／手机／钱包／行李）被偷了。时间是（几点），地点是（路名、店名或站名）。里面有（护照／现金／银行卡／手机）。我是外国游客，住（酒店中文名）。我需要一份报案记录，用来补办护照和申请保险。请问可以给我盖章的副本吗？谢谢。Asking for the written record
Ask before you leave the desk. Coming back for a document is a second trip to a place you did not want to visit once.
请问报案记录什么时候可以拿到？可以现在给我一份副本吗？上面需要有案件编号、报案时间和派出所的章。保险公司和使领馆都会要这份文件。如果今天拿不到，我明天几点来取？谢谢。Calling your own embassy
Say your nationality, your location and what document you have lost. Then ask what they need you to bring.
您好，我是（国家）公民，现在在（城市）。我的护照丢了，已经拿到报案记录。请问补发旅行证件需要什么材料？需要照片吗？需要预约吗？大概几个工作日？我原定（日期）离境，还来得及吗？谢谢。Exit permission after a replacement document
A new travel document is not the same as permission to leave on the old entry record. Ask for both.
您好，我的护照丢了，已经补办了旅行证件，也需要办出境许可。请问在哪个窗口办？需要带哪些材料？需要报案记录和使领馆的证明吗？大概多久能办好？我的航班是（日期），来得及吗？谢谢。Asking the hotel to make the call
A front desk can call the police non-emergency line, the embassy and your insurer. Hand over the card and let them speak.
您好，我遇到麻烦了，需要打电话但我说不了中文。可以请你们帮我打这个电话吗？这是我要说的情况，写在这张纸上。如果需要我本人确认，我就在这里等。谢谢你们。A police report that mentions an injury
If anyone was hurt, say it at the desk. It changes the report and it changes what insurance will accept.
我受伤了，这里有伤口。我需要先去医院，还是先做完报案？如果我先去医院，报案记录以后可以补吗？请把受伤的情况写进记录，我的保险需要。谢谢。Use these cards when reporting a loss or requesting a replacement document. Fill in the time, place and missing items before showing a card.
Is China safe for a woman travelling alone?
Ordinary street harassment is less common than in many cities, and the practical risks are still traffic, scams and isolation after dark. Telling the hotel your plans and using official transport at night are the two habits that matter most.
Do I need to carry my passport?
Carry it, or carry a copy plus a photo on your phone. Hotels, rail and some venues require the original, and a police check can ask for identification.
Can I drink the tap water?
Boiled or bottled is the ordinary practice, including for brushing teeth in some places. This is a stomach-comfort question rather than a warning about the water supply.
What if I am stopped by police?
Show identification, stay calm and ask for the reason. You can call your embassy's consular line if a situation becomes unclear; do not walk away from an officer who has asked you to stay.
Is it safe to leave luggage at the hotel?
A staffed luggage room with a numbered tag is normal and generally reliable. Keep the passport, the payment method and any medicine with you rather than in the stored bag.
Should I buy travel insurance?
Yes, and read what it excludes before you need it. The claim needs documents from the hospital or the police, so the policy is only half of the arrangement.
What is the one thing to prepare?
An offline copy of your passport, your bookings and your embassy's twenty-four-hour number, on a device or a sheet of paper that does not depend on the phone you might lose.
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.
Country and region information: find the Chinese mission that covers you
The index for locating the Chinese embassy or consulate responsible for a given country. For a lost passport, the useful page is your own country's mission in China, and the entry point here tells you which Chinese mission handles the reverse direction.
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.
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 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.
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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