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Getting treated

Falling ill in China: where to go and who pays

In short

I'm ill in a Chinese city. Where do I go?

Dial 120 for an ambulance. If you can travel, go to a hospital emergency department: almost every hospital runs one. Call your insurer as soon as you are referred, because healthcare in China is not free and can be very expensive. In Beijing you can also call a hospital's 24-hour international line or book in English through the International Service Beijing mini-program.

Check your insurance

Applies to

Visitors who have become ill or been injured mid-trip, and travellers with a condition who want the route worked out before they need it.

Check before you rely on it

Beijing is the only city whose government publishes a step-by-step English medical route we could open. Treat the named hospital lines, the mini-program and the 114 platform as Beijing facts, not national ones.

Information checked:

The two things that decide how this goes are whether you can name a hospital before you need one, and whether your insurer hears from you before the bill does.

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What to do

Seven moves, in this order

  1. 1.Decide whether this is an emergency. If it is, dial 120 and ask for an ambulance. In Beijing the same service is reachable as (+8610) 120.
  2. 2.If you can travel, go to a hospital emergency department. Almost all hospitals run one, and it is the route that does not need an appointment or an app.
  3. 3.Call your insurer as soon as you are directed to a facility. Healthcare in China is not free and can be very expensive, and the insurer needs to be in the conversation before the bill is.
  4. 4.For a non-emergency in Beijing, book an outpatient appointment through the International Service Beijing mini-program on WeChat or Alipay, tapping En for the English version, or through the Beijing 114 platform.
  5. 5.In Beijing you can also call an international service line directly: Peking Union Medical College Hospital on +86-10-69155288, United Family Healthcare on +86-10-59277120, or Raffles Hospital Beijing on +86-10-87937999, all around the clock.
  6. 6.Outside Beijing, ask your hotel to call ahead to the nearest large hospital and to write down the department name in Chinese. No other city publishes an English route we could open.
  7. 7.Keep every receipt and every piece of paper you are handed. The claim is reconstructed from them later.

Who answers in English

Three Beijing lines, published as 24-hour numbers

These are Beijing's own listings for hospitals with international services. They are not a national directory.

  • International Medical Services, Peking Union Medical College Hospital · +86-10-69155288
  • United Family Healthcare, Beijing · +86-10-59277120
  • Raffles Hospital Beijing · +86-10-87937999

For an ambulance anywhere in the mainland the number is 120. Beijing publishes it as (+8610) 120 for a call placed from a foreign number.

Clear Consultation Process (Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

Pick the row you are in

What is happening, and what the sources actually promise

One route is national. Most of the rest are Beijing's, and the page says so rather than pretending otherwise.

SituationRouteWhat the source says
Chest pain, breathing trouble, heavy bleeding, unconsciousnessDial 120Pre-hospital emergency medicine runs under the "120" name across the Chinese mainland — 120 is the service, not a count of centres. In Beijing, dial (+8610) 120.
Ill enough to need a doctor today, in BeijingAn international service line, or the emergency departmentThree Beijing hospitals publish 24-hour emergency numbers for their international services. Almost all hospitals also run an emergency department.
Ill enough to need a doctor today, elsewhere in ChinaHospital emergency departmentThis is the only step in the Beijing guide that its own text describes as nationwide. Nothing we could open publishes an equivalent English route for another city.
Not urgent, but you want to be seen in BeijingInternational Service Beijing mini-program, or Beijing 114The mini-program runs inside WeChat and Alipay and has an English toggle marked En. It sits on the Beijing 114 appointment and registration platform.
You take a regular prescriptionBring it with youSome medicines available at home may be unavailable in China or may not be allowed into the country. This is a packing decision, not a recovery one.
Working out who paysYour insurer, earlyHealthcare is not free in China and can be very expensive. Contact your insurance company promptly if you are referred to a facility for treatment.

Do I have to pay first?

Nobody is treating you for free

This is the half of the question the city guides do not answer, so it comes from travel advice instead.

Healthcare is not free in China and can be very expensive. Hold travel and medical insurance that covers treatment, medical evacuation and repatriation rather than just cancellation, and contact the insurer promptly once you are referred to a facility. No source we opened says a Chinese hospital bills a foreign insurer directly, and none publishes a consultation price or an admission deposit, so assume your own card goes first and the claim comes later.

Foreign travel advice: China — Health (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

The published facts

What the sources say, line by line

Each line links the source page and the day we read it. Sources read 2026-07-25.

120 is the number for an ambulance

Beijing's guide writes it as: there are "120" emergency medical centers across Chinese mainland. The quotation marks in the source mark 120 as the name of the emergency medical service, not a national count of centres, and this page reads it that way. In Beijing you may dial (+8610) 120 to request pre-hospital emergency medical services.

Clear Consultation Process (Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

Almost every hospital has an emergency department

Beijing's guide states that almost all hospitals are equipped with emergency departments which can provide emergency medical treatment for patients. That is the fallback when no appointment channel is working for you.

Clear Consultation Process (Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

Three Beijing lines that answer around the clock

International Medical Services at Peking Union Medical College Hospital on +86-10-69155288, United Family Healthcare Beijing on +86-10-59277120, and Raffles Hospital Beijing on +86-10-87937999, all published as 24-hour emergency numbers.

Clear Consultation Process (Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

How to book an outpatient slot in Beijing

The International Service Beijing healthcare service of the Beijing 114 Appointment and Registration Service Platform takes outpatient appointments. Open the International Service Beijing mini-program on WeChat or Alipay and tap En to switch to the English version.

Clear Consultation Process (Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

How much English capacity one city has

As of January 2025, 156 medical institutions in Beijing provide comprehensive English-language services, covering both government-run public hospitals and non-public ones. Beijing also encourages public hospitals to set up international medical departments.

Medical Guide for Foreigners in Beijing (outline) (Beijing Municipal People's Government, read 2026-07-25)

Nobody is treating you for free

Healthcare is not free in China and can be very expensive. Travel and medical insurance should cover healthcare, medical evacuation and repatriation, not just cancellation.

Foreign travel advice: China — Health (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

Call the insurer before the treatment, not after

The UK's travel advice says to contact your insurance company promptly if you are referred to a medical facility for treatment. Doing it from the waiting room is easier than reconstructing it from a discharge desk.

Foreign travel advice: China — Health (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

Bring your own medicine

The legal status and regulation of medicines differ between countries. Some medicines may be unavailable in China or may not be allowed into the country, so travel with enough of your own supply and check before you fly.

Foreign travel advice: China — Health (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

There is a foreign-ministry hospital list

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office publishes a list of hospitals in China where some staff speak English. It is a foreign ministry's list, not a Chinese authority's, and that is worth knowing when you use it.

Foreign travel advice: China — Health (UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, read 2026-07-25)

In short

Getting treated in China

Short answers for the moment you realise this is not going to wait until you are home.

Where do I go if I get ill in a Chinese city?

If it is an emergency, dial 120 for an ambulance. If you can travel, go to the emergency department of a large hospital: Beijing's government guide says almost all hospitals run one. In Beijing you can also call a hospital's international service line directly, or book outpatient care through the International Service Beijing mini-program.

Who answers in English?

In Beijing, three hospitals publish 24-hour international service numbers, and 156 Beijing institutions provided full English-language services as of January 2025. Outside Beijing, no government-published English medical route could be opened in this pass, so assume you will need your hotel to interpret or call ahead.

Do I have to pay first?

Plan on paying. The UK's travel advice states healthcare is not free in China and can be very expensive, and tells travellers to hold insurance covering treatment, medical evacuation and repatriation. No source we opened says a Chinese hospital will bill a foreign insurer directly.

How do I book a normal appointment rather than turning up?

In Beijing, through the International Service Beijing healthcare service of the Beijing 114 platform. Open the mini-program in WeChat or Alipay and tap En for the English version. No comparable English booking channel for another city could be opened.

What about my regular prescription?

Bring enough with you. Some medicines prescribed at home may be unavailable in China or may not be allowed into the country, so replacing them mid-trip is not something to count on.

What number do I call for an ambulance?

120. Beijing's guide and the UK's travel advice both give the same number, and Beijing publishes it as (+8610) 120 when dialling from abroad or from a foreign SIM.

Not published

What we could not confirm

An ill traveller is being sold certainty everywhere else. Here is where the sources stop.

  • Beijing is the only city whose government publishes a step-by-step English medical route we could open. Do not assume the mini-program, the 114 platform or the named hospital lines cover another city.
  • No opened source states what a hospital will accept as payment from a foreign visitor, or whether any foreign insurer is billed directly.
  • No opened source publishes a price for a consultation, an admission deposit or an ambulance.
  • No Chinese authority's national English hospital directory could be opened. The list this page mentions is published by the UK's foreign ministry.
  • The Beijing guide's third step, the outpatient visiting process for a foreign patient, is published as an image with no readable text, so this page does not paraphrase it.

Below the hospital line

When a pharmacy is the right stop: the OTC shelf, the mark on the box, and what needs a prescription.

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Insurance

What a policy has to cover before it is any use here: treatment, evacuation and repatriation.

Open insurance guide

If your phone went too

Freezing the wallet, calling the payment lines, and why your train ticket is not lost with the handset.

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If treatment overruns your days

The extension route, the seven-day deadline, and what the law sets as the overstay penalty.

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