Pharmacy, hospital and emergencies
The emergency numbers in mainland China are 120 for an ambulance, 110 for police and 119 for fire. The two sentences worth knowing by heart are 我需要看医生。 ("I need to see a doctor") and 我对……过敏。 ("I'm allergic to…").
What actually happens
This is the page to screenshot rather than study. Nobody rehearses medical vocabulary on holiday, and if you need it you will not be in a state to conjugate anything — so the goal here is a small set of sentences you can point at, plus three numbers.
The numbers first: 120 for an ambulance, 110 for police, 119 for fire. Operators are unlikely to speak English, so if you can, have someone nearby make the call — 请帮我叫救护车。 ("please call an ambulance for me") is the sentence that gets a bystander to do it. In a major city, a taxi to the hospital is often faster than an ambulance anyway.
For anything not urgent, the pharmacy comes first. A Chinese 药店 (yàodiàn) is on nearly every street, staffed by someone who can dispense a great deal without a prescription, and used routinely for the things a Western traveller would visit a GP for. Bring the packaging of any medication you already take, and know that many international hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have English-speaking staff and a foreigners' clinic (国际门诊).
What they'll say back to you
Understanding the reply is the half of the conversation phrasebooks skip. These are the lines you will actually hear in this situation — learn to recognise them, not to say them.
What to say
Emergencies
Saying what's wrong
Allergies and existing conditions
At the pharmacy
The bit that isn't language
Write your allergies, your blood type, any medication you take and your hotel's name into a single note in Chinese, and set it as your lock-screen wallpaper for the trip. It works with a dead battery on someone else's phone, and it is the one preparation on this page that could genuinely matter.
Quick quiz — 5 questions
Five questions built from the phrases above: you get the English, you pick the Chinese. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that they have stuck.
How do you say this?
Common mistakes
| ✗ What visitors do | ✓ What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Calling 911 | Calling 120, 110 or 119 | 911 is not a number in mainland China. 120 is the ambulance, 110 the police, 119 the fire service — the split matters because you dial a different number for each. |
| Relying on speaking your allergy aloud | Carrying it written in Chinese | Under stress, with an accent, to someone who has never heard the word — this is exactly when spoken language fails. A note on your lock screen never does. |
| Going straight to a hospital ward | Registering at 挂号处 first | Chinese hospitals run on a register-pay-see-pay-collect flow. Skipping the registration desk means being sent back to it, which costs you time you may not want to spend. |
Pharmacy and emergencies — frequently asked questions
What is the emergency number in China?
120 for an ambulance, 110 for the police and 119 for the fire service. There is no single combined number like 911 or 999. Operators are unlikely to speak English, so if you can, ask someone nearby to make the call: 请帮我叫救护车 (qǐng bāng wǒ jiào jiùhùchē).
How do I say I'm allergic to something in Chinese?
我对……过敏 (wǒ duì … guòmǐn). Fill the gap with the allergen: 青霉素 (penicillin), 花生 (peanuts), 海鲜 (seafood), 牛奶 (milk). Write the full sentence out in Chinese and keep it on your phone before you travel.
Can I buy medicine in China without a prescription?
Many things, yes. Chinese pharmacies (药店) dispense cold and flu remedies, painkillers, stomach medicine and some antibiotics over the counter, and staff are used to advising. Bring the packaging of anything you already take — the chemical name on the box is often the fastest way to be understood.
Do Chinese hospitals have English-speaking doctors?
In major cities, often yes. Large hospitals in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen run an international clinic (国际门诊) with English-speaking staff, and private international hospitals exist in all of them. Ask 有会说英语的医生吗？(yǒu huì shuō Yīngyǔ de yīshēng ma).
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Before you fly
Work through the whole trip in Ready for a trip to China in 30 days, play Travel Survival Sprint to make the phrases automatic, practise saying them aloud in Airport Roleplay, or look up anything else in the Chinese → Pinyin translator.