When I first arrived in Mainland China, I had some horrifying incidents, such as a fuse box at home exploding in the middle of the night or a friend getting attacked by a furious fake taxi driver when he refused to pay an unreasonable ripped-off fare. And I knew I needed to call the emergency number for these unexpected scenarios, yet, I didn’t have the numbers at the top of my mind. In Hong Kong, as a kid, we all know to call 999. However, the emergency numbers in Mainland China might differ from your origin country/region!

Police Department -110
Fire Department - 112
Ambulance - 120

Calling Tips:

1. 110, 120, and 119 are free calls. 110 may be used for all emergencies. It is the first number to call. Whether 119 or 120 is called depends on the situation.

2. The responder may or may not speak English, but if they don’t, they will immediately transfer to someone who does! So yes, 110 does provide English-speaking services.

3. The more details you can provide to the police, the better. At a minimum, you must provide your name and location and describe the problem. Tell them the landmarks and buildings nearby if you don’t know the exact position. If you are in a remote area, you must give the town or village name. After the call, you should keep your phone on if they need to call you back. When you see a police car approaching, wave to them actively.

4. After calling 120, first-aid treatment is not encouraged. Unless you have first-aid training, you should wait patiently for the paramedics to arrive.

As you may already have noticed, surveillance cameras exist at every street corner. I feel very safe in this city, actually, the safest city I have experienced compared to other cities I have stayed/travelled to. I have heard stories about police helping residents find their lost dogs by following segments of camera footage. They saw the dog hopped into a taxi with an air conditioner and followed the taxi driver home. They could call the taxi company and contact the driver, who had their dog and returned to the owners on the same day. Police are very helpful, and some of them speak perfect English.

I also once went to a police station when someone stole my phone that was left in the toilet 2 minutes after I left. The police were helpful as they are experienced with this kind of case. I was able to retrieve my phone from a person who took my phone home the night before. The police were able to contact that person and educate them that if you find belongings that don’t belong to you, you can call the police to take care of them instead of taking them into possession.