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Emergency Phrase Cards guide

Emergency Phrase Cards for China Travel

Emergency phrase cards for China travel, covering police, ambulance, fire, traffic accident, passport loss, hotel help, and medical symptoms.

Reviewed Jun 28, 2026Emergency Phrase CardsHighNext review due Jul 28, 2026.

Phrase cards support communication only. In emergencies, follow instructions from emergency services, police, medical staff, carriers, and embassy or consulate officials.

Quick answer

Save 110, 120, 119, 122, 12367, embassy contacts, and short emergency cards offline.

Use this practical sequence to prepare, act, and recover if the normal plan does not work:

  • Save emergency numbers and embassy or consulate contacts offline.
  • Prepare one card each for police, ambulance, fire, traffic accident, passport loss, allergy, and hotel help.
  • Keep cards short enough for a stranger or staff member to understand immediately.
  • Include your hotel name, address, room number, and emergency contact.

Applies to travelers who need emergency chinese phrases in mainland china, visitors preparing for police, ambulance, fire, traffic accident, medical, or passport-loss situations, travelers who need offline cards that are short enough to show quickly.

Key facts

Save 110, 120, 119, 122, 12367, embassy contacts, and short emergency cards offline.

Save emergency numbers and embassy or consulate contacts offline.

You show a long translated paragraph during an emergency.

Use a short card: “I am a foreign traveler. Please call 120. I need medical help. This is my location.”

You lose your passport.

Ask hotel staff to help contact police, then contact your embassy or consulate with your passport scan and travel details.

You are unsure which number to call.

Use 110 for police, 120 for ambulance, 119 for fire, and 122 for traffic accident; ask hotel or nearby staff to call if language is a barrier.

Lost passport

Lost passport situations require official help and clear communication.

Hospitals

Medical phrase cards help communicate needs, but do not replace medical care.

Step-by-step plan

  1. 01

    Save emergency numbers and embassy or consulate contacts offline.

  2. 02

    Prepare one card each for police, ambulance, fire, traffic accident, passport loss, allergy, and hotel help.

  3. 03

    Keep cards short enough for a stranger or staff member to understand immediately.

  4. 04

    Include your hotel name, address, room number, and emergency contact.

  5. 05

    For medical emergencies, show symptoms, allergies, medications, and insurance details.

  6. 06

    For passport loss or police matters, keep a passport scan but expect the original or police report to matter.

  7. 07

    After the immediate danger, document names, locations, reports, receipts, and contact numbers.

When the normal plan fails

You show a long translated paragraph during an emergency.

Use a short card: “I am a foreign traveler. Please call 120. I need medical help. This is my location.”

You lose your passport.

Ask hotel staff to help contact police, then contact your embassy or consulate with your passport scan and travel details.

You are unsure which number to call.

Use 110 for police, 120 for ambulance, 119 for fire, and 122 for traffic accident; ask hotel or nearby staff to call if language is a barrier.

Practical details

Source cross-check

This answer was checked against State Council: 12345 hotline coordination with 110, 119, 120 and 122 and International Services Shanghai: What to do in an emergency. A third source, NIA: China Immigration Service Hotline and English website, was used where the answer depends on implementation detail or traveler-facing handling. Additional support from U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China: Emergency contacts was kept when official rules and platform execution need to be separated. Where sources use different scope or dates, the guide follows the current official or most directly authoritative source and keeps platform or traveler-facing material as implementation context only.

Phrase cards

Emergency help

English

Ask for urgent help.

中文

您好,我需要帮助。我是外国游客,请帮我联系工作人员或警察。

Lost passport

English

Explain that your passport is lost.

中文

您好,我的护照丢了。请问我应该去哪里寻求帮助?

Medical emergency

English

Ask for ambulance help immediately.

中文

请马上帮我拨打120。我需要救护车。

FAQ

What are the main emergency numbers?
110 police, 120 ambulance or medical emergency, 119 fire, and 122 traffic accident.
Should phrase cards be bilingual?
Yes, but the Chinese text should be short and direct so nearby staff can act quickly.
Is 12367 an emergency number?
No. It is the NIA immigration service hotline for immigration-related consultation and services, not a replacement for police, fire, or ambulance emergency calls.

Sources and review policy

Visible guide facts must be supported by the page sources and rechecked before the next update date.

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