Numbers, procedures and phrases. Save this page offline before you land — it's the one you'll want when your phone has no data.
All free to dial from a Chinese landline or mobile. From a foreign mobile, prefix with +86 and drop the leading 0 for area codes. Note that 12367 and 12308 are the ones most useful to a visitor.
When you call 110 or 120, say your location first and slowly: street name, nearest metro station exit, or the name of the building. Operators may transfer you to an English speaker — ask for one ("English, please" / 请说英语). Keep your passport number and your hotel's Chinese name somewhere accessible, not just on your phone.
Go to the nearest police station (派出所) or dial 110. Ask for the 报案证明 / 报警回执 — a written report. Your embassy will require it, and your insurer will too. It also protects you if someone else uses your identity.
Guangzhou hosts most consulates serving South China; some countries also have offices in Shenzhen. They can issue an emergency travel document or a temporary passport. Call 12308 if you can't reach your mission. Bring the police report, photos of the lost passport if you have them, a spare passport photo, and your flight details.
Your visa-free status was attached to the document you entered on, so a new travel document needs the exit-entry administration to update the record. Visit the Shenzhen public security bureau exit-entry division, or the immigration desk at the airport service centre, well before your flight. Call 12367 to confirm what to bring.
Tell your airline as soon as you have the new document number. Ask your insurer whether they need the police report in a particular form or language before you leave the country — getting it translated later is painful.
Prevention, five minutes: photograph your passport photo page, your entry stamp and your flight booking, and email them to yourself. Carry a paper copy of your passport separate from the original. Every hotel will want the original, but a copy saves hours if it goes missing.
For anything serious, dial 120 — the ambulance service is fast and the dispatchers are used to foreign callers. For anything minor, a hospital with an international department will save you a great deal of friction.
Typhoons affect Shenzhen mainly between June and September. A tropical cyclone signal means grounded flights, suspended ferries, closed beaches and attractions, and sometimes shut metro sections. Signals are numbered 1 to 10; at 8 and above, transport stops and people are told to stay indoors.
If a storm is forecast during your stay: rebook early rather than late, since everyone else will be doing the same; check your airline's app before you travel to the airport; and don't plan an outdoor-heavy itinerary in July and August anyway — it's 33°C with 80% humidity and afternoon downpours are normal.
Between October and April the weather is close to ideal: 18–25°C, low humidity, clear skies. It's the best window for a layover visit, and also the busiest.
English is spoken at the airport, in the service centres, at international hotels and in the big malls. Outside that, it often isn't. Saying even these badly changes the temperature of the interaction.
| Say this | 中文 | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Nǐ hǎo | 你好 | Hello |
| Xièxie | 谢谢 | Thank you |
| Duìbuqǐ | 对不起 | Sorry / excuse me |
| Qǐng shuō yīngyǔ | 请说英语 | Please speak English |
| Yǒu yīngwén càidān ma? | 有英文菜单吗？ | Is there an English menu? |
| Duōshǎo qián? | 多少钱？ | How much is it? |
| Kěyǐ shuā kǎ ma? | 可以刷卡吗？ | Can I pay by card? |
| Wǒ yào qù zhèlǐ | 我要去这里 | I want to go here (show the address on your screen) |
| Qǐng bāngbang wǒ | 请帮帮我 | Please help me |
| Wǒ de hùzhào diū le | 我的护照丢了 | I've lost my passport |
| Jiùhùchē / jǐngchá | 救护车 / 警察 | Ambulance / police |
| Bú yào, xièxie | 不要，谢谢 | No thank you (firm — use for touts) |
Off-line the things that matter: screenshot your hotel address in Chinese characters, your onward flight, your passport photo page and this phrase table. Screenshots work when data doesn't.