Emergency care in China: what to do in the first hour

Call 120, or go yourself

Call 120 when the person can't be moved safely: suspected heart attack or stroke, serious injury, unconsciousness, severe breathing difficulty, or heavy bleeding. Stay on the line and give the address first — dispatchers need the location before anything else.

Go by taxi or ride-hail when the patient can sit up and travel. In big cities this is often quicker than waiting for an ambulance. Ask the driver for the nearest large hospital's emergency department:

In Beijing, the Red Cross emergency centre also runs ambulances on 999. Outside the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau use 999 as the general emergency number.

What to have ready

• Passport (or a clear photo of it). Hospitals register patients by ID.
• A phone that can pay: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card, or the hospital's own payment mini-program.
• Some cash in RMB, as a fallback if a payment fails.
• The address in Chinese — copy it from a map app or your hotel booking.
• A list of medicines, allergies and conditions, ideally with the Chinese translation. The hospital Chinese guide has phrases you can show.
• Your insurer's 24-hour assistance number, if you have travel or international health insurance.

What happens at the emergency department

Large public hospitals run a separate emergency department (急诊) that stays open around the clock. The usual sequence is:

1. Triage (预检分诊): a nurse checks how urgent the case is. Serious cases are seen first.
2. Registration (挂号): show the passport and pay a small registration fee.
3. Doctor's assessment: the doctor orders tests such as blood work, an ECG or a CT scan.
4. Pay, then test: in many public hospitals you pay for each test before it is done, at a counter, a kiosk or by scanning a QR code.
5. Treatment or admission: if you are admitted, the hospital usually asks for an inpatient deposit (住院押金).

Public or international hospital?

For a life-threatening emergency, the nearest capable hospital matters more than language. Once the patient is stable, many foreigners transfer follow-up care to an international department or private hospital.

After the emergency

• Ask for copies of everything: the medical record (病历), test reports, the diagnosis certificate (诊断证明) and official invoices (发票). Insurers usually need them; see paying for healthcare in China.
• If you'll stay longer than your visa or visa-free period allows because of treatment, contact the local Exit-Entry Administration early. See visas and entry for medical travel.
• For serious incidents, your embassy or consulate can help contact family and may provide lists of English-speaking doctors.