Telephone numbers in China



Telephone numbers in the People's Republic of China are administered according to the Telecommunications Network Numbering Plan of China. The structure of telephone numbers for landlines and mobile service is different. Landline telephone numbers have area codes, whereas mobile numbers do not. In major cities, landline numbers consist of a two-digit area code followed by an eight-digit local number. In other places, landline numbers consist of a three-digit area code followed by a seven- or eight-digit local number. Mobile phone numbers consist of eleven digits.

Landline calls within the same area do not require the area code. Calls to other areas require dialing the trunk prefix 0 and the area code.

Calling a mobile phone from a landline requires the addition of the "0" in front of the mobile phone number if they are not in the same area. Mobile to landline calls requires the "0" and the area code if the landline is not within the same place. Mobile to mobile calls does not require the "0" outside mainland China.

The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau are not part of this numbering plan, and use the calling codes 852 and 853 respectively.

Mobile phones
In mainland China, mobile phone numbers have eleven digits in the format 1xx-XXXX-XXXX (except for 140–144, which are 13-digit IoT numbers), in which the first three digits (13x to 19x) designate the mobile phone service provider.

Before GSM, mobile phones had 6-digit (later upgraded to 7-digit) numbers starting with nine. They had the same numbering format as fixed-line telephones. Those numbers were eventually translated into 1390xx9xxx, where xx were local identifiers.

The oldest China Mobile GSM numbers were ten digits long and started with 139 in 1994, the second oldest 138 in 1997, and 137, 136, 135 in 1999. The oldest China Unicom numbers started with 130 in 1995, the second oldest at 131 in 1998. Keeping the same number over time is somewhat associated with the stability and reliability of the owner. The 5th to the seventh digit sometimes relates to age and location.

China's mobile telephone numbers were changed from ten digits to eleven digits, with 0 added after 13x, and thus the HLR code became four-digit long to expand the capacity of the seriously fully crowded numbering plan.

In 2006, 15x numbers were introduced. In late 2008, 18x and 14x (for data plans or IoT) were introduced. In late 2013, 17x were introduced. In 2017, 16x and 19x were introduced.

In December 2016, each cell phone number was required to be consigned to a real name in mainland China.

In November 2010, MIIT has started the trial mobile number portability service in Tianjin and Hainan, in 2012 the trial has extended to Jiangxi, Hubei and Yunan provinces. On 10 November 2019, all provinces started accepting MNP requests for all mobile carriers, except for technical difficulties, the MVNO phones, satellite phones and IoT phones.

Mobile service carriers can be identified by the first three or four digits as follows:
 * 1) China Unicom before 2009
 * 2) Operated by China Transport Telecommunication Information Group Co., Ltd.
 * 3) TD-SCDMA networks deprecated by China Mobile in 2020
 * 4) China Unicom finalize deprecated the GSM networks in 2021. A plan to deprecate GSM by China Mobile announced in 2023, scheduled to shut down in 2025
 * 5) CDMA2000 1x Ev-Do networks deprecated in 2022, and CDMA2000 1x RTT in 2024
 * 6) LTE compatibility of China Broadnet SIM cards only available on Apple iOS devices
 * 7) WCDMA networks are being deprecated by China Unicom since 2023

1G TACS networks were provided by China Telecom since 1987, operations transferred to China Mobile in 1999, the year China Mobile established, 1G shut down in 2001.

Calling formats
To call phone numbers in China one of the following formats is used:

xxx xxxx | xxxx xxxx Calls within the same area code
 * For fixed phones:

0yyy xxx xxxx | 0yyy xxxx xxxx Calls from other areas within China

+86 yyy xxx xxxx | +86 yyy xxxx xxxx Calls from outside China

1nn xxxx xxxx Calls to mobile phones within China
 * For mobile phones:

+86 1nn xxxx xxxx Calls to mobiles from outside China

Area 1 – Capital Operation Center
The prefix one is used exclusively by the national capital, Beijing Municipality.


 * Beijing – 10 (formerly 1, abolished after GSM was introduced, to avoid conflict with mobile phone numbers with prefix 0 added (e.g. 0139-xxxx-xxxx))

Area 2 – Country Communication System Operating Center
These are area codes for the municipalities of Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing, as well as several major cities with early access to telephones. These cities have upgraded to an 8-number system in the past decade. All telephone numbers are 8-digit in these areas.


 * Shanghai – 21
 * Tianjin – 22
 * Chongqing – 23 1
 * Shenyang, Tieling, Fushun, Benxi – 24 2
 * Nanjing – 25
 * Wuhan, Huarong District of Ezhou – 27
 * Chengdu, Meishan, Ziyang – 28 3
 * Xi'an, Xianyang – 29 4
 * Guangzhou – 20

1 - Formerly 811 in urban area and 814 in Yongchuan, both abolished in 9 August 1997; 819 for Wanxian and 810 for Fuling and Qianjiang, abolished in 28 November 1998. 2 - Formerly 410 for Tieling and 413 for Fushun, abolished in 28 August 2011; 414 for Benxi, abolished in 24 May 2014. 3 - Formerly 832, 833, abolished 2010. 4 - Formerly 910, abolished 2006.

It's still unclear whether 26 will be provided or not, some local materials say that it's reserved for Taiwan (especially its capital Taipei), but currently they use +886. Some proposals from planned independent cities to get rights to operate 026 were also unsuccessful.

Area 3 – Northern China Operation Center
These are area codes for the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Henan.

Henan – 37x 39x
1 - Formerly 378, abolished in 26 October 2013. 2 - Formerly 397 for 7 east counties, abolished in 20 October 2005.

Area 4 – Northeastern China Operation Center
These are area codes for the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, and the provinces in Northeast China (Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang). Additionally, numbers starting 400 are shared-pay (callers are charged local rate anywhere in the country) numbers.

Jilin – 43x 44x
1 - except Gongzhuling which still uses 434 of Siping 2 - Hunchun formerly 440, abolished in 16 September 2006 3 - Meihekou, Liuhe, Huinan formerly 448, abolished in 16 September 2006

Heilongjiang – 45x 46x
1 -Acheng formerly 450, abolished. 2 - Includes Jiagedaqi and Songling, where considered part of Inner Mongolia by de jure

Inner Mongolia – 47x 48x
1 - Jiagedaqi and Songling are de facto under the administration of the Daxing'anling Prefecture, uses 457.

Area 5 – Eastern China Operating Center
These are area codes for the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong (predominantly), Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian.

Jiangsu – 51x 52x
All telephone numbers are 8-digit in Jiangsu.

1 - Changshu, Kunshan, Taicang, Wujiang and Zhangjiagang are formerly 520, abolished in 20 April 2002.

Anhui – 55x 56x
1 - Formerly 565 for Chaohu prefectural city era (i.e. before 2011), later splitted as: Hefei's 551 for Juchao district (now county-level Chaohu) and Lujiang county, Wuhu's 553 for Wuwei and Shenxiang Town of He county (now part of Jiujiang district), and Ma'anshan's 555 for He county (except Shenxiang) and Hanshan county. 2 - Split from Fuyang in 2000, no new area code allocated.

Fujian – 59x 50x
1 - Kinmen, Matsu, and Wuchiu are under Taiwanese control, and hence use international calling code of +886.

Area 6 – Supplement for Shandong(63x), Guangdong(66x), Yunnan(69x)
All area codes with prefix 6 were assigned in recent years. This prefix (+866) previously was reserved for Taiwan, which is now assigned (+886).

Shandong – 63x
While most areas in Shandong use the prefix 53x 54x, some sites also use the prefix 6.


 * Weihai – 631
 * Zaozhuang – 632
 * Rizhao – 633
 * Liaocheng – 635

Laiwu was using 634, now merged to Jinan's 531, former numbers are re-prefixxed as 5317 when merging.

Guangdong – 66x
While most areas in Guangdong use the prefix 75x and 76x, some sites also use the prefix 6. The provincial capital Guangzhou uses code 20.


 * Shanwei – 660
 * Yangjiang – 662
 * Jieyang – 663
 * Maoming – 668

Chaoyang county-level city was using 661, now changed to 754 after splitted to Chaoyang and Chaonan districts and join Shantou.

Yunnan – 69x
While most areas in Yunnan use the prefix 87x and 88x, a couple of areas also use the prefix 6.


 * Xishuangbanna – 691
 * Dehong – 692

Area 7 – Central-Southern China Operating Center
These are area codes for the central provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong (predominantly), Jiangxi, and the autonomous region of Guangxi.

Hubei – 71x 72x
20 - except Huarong district which uses Wuhan's 27.

Hunan – 73x 74x
21 - Formerly 733, abolished. 22 - Formerly 732, abolished.

Guangdong – 75x 76x
23 - Shunde formerly 765, abolished.

Guangxi – 77x 78x
24 - Split from Wuzhou Prefecture, original area code inherited. 25 - Split from Liuzhou Prefecture, original area code inherited. 26 - Split from Yulin Prefecture, original area code inherited. 27 - Split from Nanning Prefecture, original area code inherited.

Area 8 -Southwestern China Operating Center
These are area codes for the provinces of Sichuan, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan (predominantly) and the autonomous region of Tibet.

Guizhou – 85x 86x
28 - Formerly 852, 853, abolished 2014.

Yunnan – 87x 88x
29 - Dongchuan formerly 881, incorporated into 871 30 - also de facto used by Wa State of

Hainan – 898
All telephone numbers are 8-digit in Hainan.

Formerly (most likely before 2000), Sanya, Wuzhishan, Lingshui, Ledong, Baoting and Qiongzhong were 899, Danzhou, Dongfang, Lingao, Baisha and Changjiang were 890.

Area 9 – Northwestern China Operating Center
These are area codes for northwestern regions including the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai, as well as the autonomous regions of Ningxia and Xinjiang.

Gansu – 93x 94x
31 - Shared area code due to small size.

Qinghai – 97x 98x
32 - Area under the administration of Golmud uses 979, other landlines within the prefecture use 977.

Xinjiang – 99x 90x
33 - except Wusu and Dushanzi District which use Kuytun's 992. 34 - except Shawan county which uses Shihezi's 993, and Hoboksar county which uses Karamay's 990.

Emergency numbers
From within Mainland China, the following emergency numbers are used:


 * 110 – Police (12110 for SMS to police, not for calling, 95110 for maritime policies, 96110 to report frauds)
 * 119 – Fire brigade (12119 for forest fire in some regions)
 * 120 – Ambulance
 * 122 – Traffic accident (incorporated into 110 in some cities) (12122 on expressways)
 * 999 – Privately operated ambulance (Beijing ONLY, calls outside Beijing is 010-999)

In most cities, the emergency numbers assist in Mandarin Chinese and English.

Starting from 2012 in Shenzhen, an implemented system upgrade to unify three emergency reporting services into one number, 110. A similar approach is being installed in more cities in China to make them more convenient.

Dialing 112, 911, and 999 (outside Beijing without area code 010) plays a recording message about the correct emergency numbers in Chinese and English twice: "For police, dial 110. To report a fire, dial 119. For ambulance, dial 120. To report a traffic accident, dial 122." on China Mobile and China Unicom phones, NO SERVICES will be redirected. The error messages "Number does not exist" will be played on China Telecom phones, and NO SERVICES will be redirected. However, some local report said that in sometimes, only within Beijing, China Unicom landlines and mobile phones call 010-112 may be successful as reporting service for call failures.

Others
From within Mainland China, the following special numbers are used:
 * 100xx – Telecommunications Customer Service
 * 10000 for China Telecom, formerly 1000
 * 10010 for China Unicom, 10015 for auditing CU's services, formerly 1001
 * 10020-10049 for VNOs
 * 10086 for China Mobile (formerly 1860), 10050 for Tietong, 10080 for auditing CM's services, 1008611 for directly checking phone bills
 * 10096 for China Tower
 * 10099 for China Broadnet
 * 106 – SMS access code
 * 11185 – Post (11183 for their EMS)
 * 114 – Directory assistance, operate by China Unicom for the northern 10 provinces, and China Telecom for the southern 21 provinces, China Unicom also operates 116114, and China Telecom 118114 that the operations are same as 114
 * 116xxx – Premium service of China Unicom (e.g. 116114)
 * 118xxx – Premium service of China Telecom (e.g. 118114)
 * 12114 – SMS name and address standard trial platform, not for calling
 * 12117 – Speaking clock
 * 12121 – Weather
 * 12123 – Traffic police services
 * 123xx – Government service, 12345 is the general number for all services below, that may be transited by 12345 operators upon kind of requests:

12303 – proposals 12305 – SPB post appeals 12306 – railway services (10-)12308 – MFA Consular assistance 12309 – SPP reports 12310 – CIOC reports 12313 – tobacco reports 12314 – water reports 12315 – consumer reports 12316 – agricultural services (10-)12317 – poverty helps 12318 – cultural reports 12319 – urban development services 12320 – health services 12321 – MIIT Internet disinfos and spam reports 12323 – MNR maritime report 12325 – food audit 12326 – CAAC audit 12328 – transportation illegal reports 12329 – housing fund services 12333 – MHRSS services (10-)12335 – MoC Multinational corporation reports 12337 – CPLAC anti-blacks 12338 – women helps 12339 – MSS reports 12340 – statistics 12348 – MoJ legal services and aids 12350 – MEM safety reports 12351 – ACFTU workers' helps 12355 – CYL Adolescence services 12360 – custom services 12361 – PDCCP Xuexi Qiangguo 12363 – PBC financial reports 12366 – tax services 12367 – immigration services 12368 – court services 12369 – environment reports (10-)12370 – MHRSS Civil services 12371 – ODCCP community member consult 12377 – CAC Internet illegal and disinfo reports 12378 – CBIRC reports (10-)12379 – MEM emergency situation info release 12380 – ODCCP reports 12381 – MIIT public services 12385 – disabled services 12386 – CSRC Investor services 12388 – CCDI and NSC reports 12389 – MPS reports 12390 – anti-pornography, illegal and copyvio publishing reports 12393 – NHSA services 12395 – MSA Shipwrecking helps 12398 – energy audits

(ex. 962288 in Shanghai – Shanghai foreigner assistant hotline, outside Shanghai  people should dial 021-962288, or they will receive an error message or undesired service message)
 * 124x – Carrier Identification Code (formerly 190/196/197, abolished in 2018, to create space for mobile phone numbers.)
 * 125xx – Premium service of China Mobile (e.g. 12580 for China Mobile's Directory assistance)
 * 179xx + target number followed – VoIP (e.g. 17901-133-0000-0000, 1790 for China Telecom, 1791 for China Unicom, and 1795 for China Mobile)
 * 400 xxx xxxx, 800 xxx xxxx – business numbers
 * Differences: bills for 400 numbers are paid by both originating and terminating callers, and support calling from both landlines and mobile phones (usually 400-1/7 operate by China Mobile, 400-0/6 operate by China Unicom, 400-8/9 operate by China Telecom); bills for 800 numbers are just paid by terminating callers, but for non-landline users, mostly only China Telecom mobile phones may call 800 phones, because nearly all 800 phones are operated by China Telecom
 * 400-881-0000 for auditing China Telecom's services
 * 95xxx, 95xxxx, 95105xxx- Service number (nationally)
 * 955xx – Bank, Insurance, Airlines service hotline, (nationally, ex. 95588 – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) )
 * 96xxx, 96xxxx – Service number (locally, area code needed for calls from other provinces or autonomous region or province-level municipality.)

Former

 * 20x (mainly 200 and 201) – was used for IC telephone service, to be reserved for mobile phones

International Access Code
The international access code from the PRC is 00. This must also be used for calls to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau from the Chinese mainland, together with their separate international codes, as follows: