【Safety】How to Text the Police in China

Source: Joshua Boyer, KeyToMainland

China is generally a place safe for foreigners and locals alike, however, it's always a good idea to know safety measures, to ensure your safety regardless of circumstance.

What can you do, when there is an emergency situation but you are unable to call the police? Thankfully, Chinese Police have a solution for this, as there is  number of situations where this feature can be life saving.

These situations could be a bank robbery, kidnapping, when you are in a dangerous area, and more.

The Chinese Police will respond to texts sent to 12110, however it's not as simple as just typing that number in, and hitting send.

To text the Chinese police, send an SMS to 12110 + your city’s three-digit area code. For example, those in Beijing would text 12110010, as 010 is Beijing's city code.

Don't know your city's Area code? That's OK, check this list!

If your area code is only two digits, then add a zero to the beginning like the Beijing example (010).

The text to the police should be as brief as possible, to prevent any misunderstanding. If possible, send the message in Chinese, however, English is generally OK as translation software is widely avaliable these days. It is recommended to send the message multiple times to Police, as well as friends and family, to prevent any message loss.

All in all, China is a generally safe place, however, it's always important to know the phone numbers and contact methods for emergency services.

We hope this article can help you in any situation, where you cannot call the police. Just keep in mind, that texting the police should only be done when you are unable to vocally call them by the phone.

---

The article was originally written by KeyToMainland, and updated by Joshua Boyer.

KeyToMainland, is an article writer and agency service operated by Guangzhou Firebird Consult Co., Ltd which focuses on Visa and Company Registration. Their service is located in Guangzhou, and operational since 2007.  You may contact them at http://www.chinavisa.pro/ or [phone].