Telephone numbers in China

China telephone numbers

Location
Country	China
Continent	Asia
Type	Open
Access codes
Country calling code	+86
International call prefix	00
Trunk prefix	0

Telephone numbers in China are organized and assigned according to the Chinese Telephone Code Plan of mainland China. Land lines and mobile telephone numbers have different structures: land lines use area codes, while mobile phones do not. Land line phone numbers in major cities have 8 digits after the two digit area code, whereas in other areas no less than 7 digits after a three digit area code. Mobile phone numbers have 11 digits without area codes.

Dialing a land line from another land line within the same area does not require dialing the area code. When making a domestic long distance call from a land line phone, the trunk prefix "0" must be dialed first, followed by the area code and the telephone number. Calling a mobile phone from a land line requires the addition of the "0" in front of the mobile phone number if they are not in the same area as well. Mobile to land line calls require the "0" and the area code, if the land line is not within the same area. Mobile to mobile calls does not require the "0". The "0" is never needed when dialing from outside mainland China.

The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are not part of this numbering plan, and use the country codes 852 and 853, respectively.

In addition, the PRC numbering plan reserves space for Taiwan, but they are not currently used. PRC claims Taiwan and several islands of Fujian which are under the control of the Republic of China. Currently phone numbers in these areas are under the separate international calling code of 886. See Telephone numbers in Taiwan.

Mobile phones

In mainland China, mobile phone numbers have 11 digits in the format 1xx-xxxx-xxxx, in which the first three digits (e.g. 13x, 14x,15x and 18x) designate the mobile phone service provider.

As new numbers were introduced over time, it is possible to recognize the age of a number: The oldest GSM numbers start with 1390…, the second oldest 1380… and 1300… Keeping the same number over time is somewhat associated with stability and reliability of the owner. As the fourth digit was introduced later, thus it is 0 for all old numbers. In further extensions, non-139,138,130 numbers were introduced. The fifth to seventh digit sometimes relates to age and location.

Even earlier, before GSM age, mobile phones had numbers starting with 9. Those numbers were eventually translated into 1390xx9…, where xx were local identifiers.

Mobile service providers can be identified by the first three or four digits as follows:

Prefix	Provider	Network
130/1/2	China Unicom	GSM
133	China Telecom*	CDMA
1340–1348	China Mobile	GSM
1349	ChinaSat	Satellite
135/6/7/8/9	China Mobile	GSM
145	China Unicom	WCDMA (Data-plans only)
147	China Mobile	TD-SCDMA (Data-plans only)
150/1/2/8/9	China Mobile	GSM
153	China Telecom*	CDMA
155	China Unicom	GSM
156	China Unicom	GSM (upgradeable to WCDMA)
157	China Mobile	TD-SCDMA
1700/1	China Telecom	CDMA2000
1705	China Mobile	TD-SCDMA/GSM
1707/8/9	China Unicom	WCDMA/GSM
1718/9	China Unicom	WCDMA/GSM
176	China Unicom	FDD-LTE/TD-LTE
177	China Telecom	FDD-LTE/TD-LTE
178	China Mobile	TD-LTE
180/1	China Telecom	CDMA2000
182/3/4/7	China Mobile	GSM
185/6	China Unicom	WCDMA
187/8	China Mobile	TD-SCDMA
189	China Telecom	CDMA2000

* Formerly China Unicom

Note: 170 and 171, are allocated to Mobile virtual network operator.

Area 1

The prefix 1 is used exclusively by the national capital, Beijing Municipality.

• Beijing – 10 (8-digit)

Area 2

These are area codes for the municipalities of Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing, as well as several major cities with early access to telephones. All of these cities have upgraded to an 8-number system in the past decade. The People's Republic of China reserves code 26 for Taipei, capital of Taiwan, which it claims sovereignty over, but does not actually control.

All telephone numbers are 8-digit in these areas (exclude Taipei).

• Shanghai – 21
• Tianjin – 22
• Chongqing – 23
• Shenyang, Tieling, Fushun, Benxi – 24
• Nanjing – 25
• Taipei – 26 (proposed use)
• Wuhan – 27
• Chengdu, Meishan, Ziyang – 28
• Xi'an, Xianyang – 29
• Guangzhou – 20

Area 3

These are area codes for the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Henan.

Hebei

• Shijiazhuang – 311 (8-digit)
• Baoding – 312
• Zhangjiakou – 313
• Chengde – 314
• Tangshan – 315
• Langfang – 316
• Cangzhou – 317
• Hengshui – 318
• Xingtai – 319
• Handan – 310
• Qinhuangdao – 335

Shanxi

• Taiyuan – 351
• Datong – 352
• Yangquan – 353
• Jinzhong – 354
• Changzhi – 355
• Jincheng – 356
• Linfen – 357
• Lüliang – 358
• Yuncheng – 359
• Xinzhou – 350
• Shuozhou – 349

Henan

• Zhengzhou – 371 (8-digit)
• Kaifeng – 371 (8-digit)
• Anyang – 372
• Xinxiang – 373
• Xuchang – 374
• Pingdingshan – 375
• Xinyang – 376 (8-digit)
• Nanyang – 377 (8-digit)
• Luoyang – 379 (8-digit)
• Shangqiu – 370
• Jiaozuo – 391
• Hebi – 392
• Puyang – 393
• Zhoukou – 394
• Luohe – 395
• Zhumadian – 396
• Xinyang (Former Huangchuan special area) – 397 (abolished in 2005, 376 used instead)
• Sanmenxia – 398

Area 4

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.

Liaoning

The provincial capital, Shenyang, and Tieling, Fushun, Benxi, uses code 24.

• Dalian – 411 (8-digit)
• Anshan – 412
• Dandong – 415
• Jinzhou – 416
• Yingkou – 417
• Fuxin – 418
• Liaoyang – 419
• Chaoyang – 421
• Panjin – 427
• Huludao – 429

Jilin

• Changchun – 431 (8-digit)
• Jilin – 432 (8-digit)
• Yanji – 433
• Siping – 434
• Tonghua – 435
• Baicheng – 436
• Liaoyuan – 437
• Songyuan – 438
• Baishan – 439
• Hunchun – 440
• Meihekou – 448

Heilongjiang

• Harbin – 451 (8-digit)
• Qiqihar – 452
• Mudanjiang – 453
• Jiamusi – 454
• Suihua – 455
• Heihe – 456
• Daxing'anling – 457
• Yichun – 458
• Daqing – 459
• Qitaihe – 464
• Jixi – 467
• Hegang – 468
• Shuangyashan – 469

Inner Mongolia

• Hohhot – 471
• Baotou – 472
• Wuhai – 473
• Jining – 474
• Tongliao – 475
• Chifeng – 476
• Dongsheng – 477
• Linhe – 478
• Xilinhot – 479
• Hulunbuir – 470
• Ulanhot – 482
• Alxa – 483

Area 5

These are area codes for the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong (predominantly), Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian.

Jiangsu

The provincial capital of Nanjing uses code 25. All telephone numbers are 8-digit in Jiangsu.

• Zhenjiang – 511
• Suzhou – 512
• Nantong – 513
• Yangzhou – 514
• Yancheng – 515
• Xuzhou – 516
• Huai'an – 517
• Lianyungang – 518
• Changzhou – 519
• Wuxi – 510
• Taizhou – 523
• Suqian – 527

Shandong – Area 5

While most areas in Shandong use the prefix 5, some areas also use the prefix 6.

• Jinan – 531 (8-digit)
• Qingdao – 532 (8-digit)
• Zibo – 533
• Dezhou – 534
• Yantai – 535
• Weifang – 536
• Jining – 537
• Tai'an – 538
• Linyi – 539
• Heze – 530
• Binzhou – 543
• Dongying – 546
• Rizhao – 633

Anhui

• Hefei – 551 (8-digit)
• Bengbu – 552
• Wuhu – 553
• Huainan – 554
• Ma'anshan – 555
• Anqing – 556
• Suzhou – 557
• Fuyang – 558
• Huangshan – 559
• Chuzhou – 550
• Huaibei – 561
• Tongling – 562
• Xuancheng – 563
• Lu'an – 564
• Chizhou – 566

Zhejiang

• Hangzhou – 571 (8-digit)
• Huzhou – 572
• Jiaxing – 573 (8-digit)
• Ningbo – 574 (8-digit)
• Shaoxing – 575 (8-digit)
• Taizhou – 576 (8-digit)
• Wenzhou – 577 (8-digit)
• Lishui – 578
• Jinhua – 579 (8-digit)
• Quzhou – 570
• Zhoushan – 580

Fujian

• Fuzhou – 591 (8-digit)
• Xiamen – 592
• Ningde – 593
• Putian – 594
• Quanzhou – 595 (8-digit)
• Zhangzhou – 596
• Longyan – 597
• Sanming – 598
• Nanping – 599

Kinmen, Matsu, and Wuchiu are currently under the control of the Republic of China; and are under the international calling code of 886.

Area 6

All area codes with prefix 6 were assigned in recent years. This prefix (+86 6...) was reserved for Taiwan (+886) during the cold war years.^[1]

Shandong – Area 6

While most areas in Shandong use the prefix 5, some areas also use the prefix 6.

• Weihai – 631
• Zaozhuang – 632
• Rizhao – 633
• Laiwu – 634
• Liaocheng – 635
• Zhaoyuan – 638

Guangdong – Area 6

While most areas in Guangdong use the prefix 7, some areas also use the prefix 6. The provincial capital Guangzhou uses code 20.

• Yangjiang – 662^[2]
• Jieyang – 663
• Maoming – 668
• Shanwei – 660

Yunnan – Area 6

While most areas in Yunnan use the prefix 8, a couple of areas also use the prefix 6.

• Jinghong – 691
• Dehong – 692

Area 7

These are area codes for the central provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong (predominantly), Jiangxi, and the autonomous region of Guangxi.

Hubei

The provincial capital of Wuhan uses code 27.

• Ezhou – 711
• Xiaogan – 712
• Huanggang – 713
• Huangshi – 714
• Xianning – 715
• Jingzhou – 716
• Yichang – 717
• Enshi – 718
• Shiyan – 719
• Xiangfan – 710
• Suizhou – 722
• Jingmen – 724
• Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang –728

Hunan

• Changsha – 731 (8-digit)
• Xiangtan – 731 (8-digit)
• Zhuzhou – 731 (8-digit)
• Hengyang – 734
• Chenzhou – 735
• Changde – 736
• Yiyang – 737
• Loudi – 738
• Shaoyang – 739
• Yueyang – 730
• Jishou – 743
• Zhangjiajie – 744
• Huaihua – 745
• Yongzhou – 746

Guangdong – Area 7

Some areas in Guangdong use the prefix 6, while the provincial capital of Guangzhou uses code 20.

• Shaoguan – 751
• Huizhou – 752
• Meizhou – 753
• Shantou – 754 (8-digit)
• Shenzhen – 755 (8-digit)
• Zhuhai – 756
• Foshan – 757 (8-digit)
• Zhaoqing – 758
• Zhanjiang – 759
• Jiangmen – 750
• Zhongshan – 760 (8-digit)
• Heyuan – 762
• Qingyuan – 763
• Yunfu – 766
• Chaozhou – 768
• Dongguan – 769 (8-digit)

Guangxi

• Nanning – 771
• Liuzhou – 772
• Guilin – 773
• Wuzhou – 774
• Yulin – 775
• Baise – 776
• Qinzhou – 777
• Hechi – 778
• Beihai – 779
• Fangchenggang – 770

Jiangxi

• Nanchang – 791 (8-digit)
• Jiujiang – 792
• Shangrao – 793
• Fuzhou – 794
• Yichun – 795
• Ji'an – 796
• Ganzhou – 797
• Jingdezhen – 798
• Pingxiang – 799
• Xinyu – 790
• Yingtan – 701

Area 8

These are area codes for the provinces of Sichuan, Hainan, Guizhou, Yunnan (predominantly) and the autonomous region of Tibet.

Sichuan

The provincial capital of Chengdu, and Meishan, Ziyang uses code 28.

• Panzhihua – 812
• Zigong – 813
• Mianyang – 816
• Nanchong – 817
• Dazhou – 818
• Suining – 825
• Guang'an –826
• Bazhong – 827
• Yibin – 831
• Neijiang – 832
• Leshan – 833
• Xichang – 834
• Ya'an – 835
• Kangding – 836
• Ngawa – 837
• Deyang – 838
• Guangyuan – 839
• Luzhou – 830

Guizhou

• Guiyang – 851 (8-digit)
• Zunyi – 851 (8-digit)
• Anshun – 851 (8-digit)
• Duyun – 854
• Kaili – 855
• Tongren – 856
• Bijie – 857
• Liupanshui – 858
• Xingyi – 859

Yunnan – Area 8

Some areas in Yunnan use the prefix 6.

• Kunming – 871 (8-digit)
• Dali – 872
• Gejiu – 873
• Qujing – 874
• Baoshan – 875
• Wenshan – 876
• Yuxi – 877
• Chuxiong – 878
• Simao – 879
• Zhaotong – 870
• Dongchuan – 881
• Lincang – 883
• Nujiang – 886
• Zhongdian – 887
• Lijiang – 888

Tibet/Xizang

• Lhasa – 891
• Shigatse – 892
• Shannan – 893
• Nyingchi – 894
• Qamdo – 895
• Nagqu – 896
• Ngari – 897

Hainan

• All areas – 898 (8-digit)

Area 9

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.

Shaanxi

The provincial capital Xi'an uses code 29. Xianyang uses the same code as Xi'an starting from 16 September 2006.^[3]

• Yan'an – 911
• Yulin – 912
• Weinan – 913
• Shangzhou – 914
• Ankang – 915
• Hanzhong – 916
• Baoji – 917
• Tongchuan – 919

Gansu

• Lanzhou – 931
• Dingxi – 932
• Pingliang – 933
• Xifeng – 934
• Wuwei – 935
• Zhangye – 936
• Jiuquan – 937
• Tianshui – 938
• Longnan – 939
• Linxia – 930
• Gannan – 941
• Baiyin – 943

Ningxia

• Yinchuan – 951
• Shizuishan – 952
• Wuzhong – 953
• Guyuan – 954
• Zhongwei – 955

Qinghai

• Xining – 971
• Haidong – 972
• Tongren – 973
• Gonghe – 974
• Golog – 975
• Yushu – 976
• Haixi (Delingha) – 977
• Menyuan – 978
• Golmud – 979
• Haiyan – 970

Xinjiang

• Ürümqi – 991
• Kuitun – 992
• Shihezi – 993
• Changji – 994
• Turpan – 995
• Korla – 996
• Aksu – 997
• Kashgar – 998
• Yining – 999
• Karamay – 990
• Tacheng – 901
• Kumul – 902
• Hotan – 903
• Altay – 906
• Artux – 908
• Bole – 909

Emergency Numbers

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

• 110 - Police
• 119 - Fire brigade
• 120 - Ambulance
• 122 - Traffic accident
• 999 - Privately operated ambulance (Beijing)

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

Others

From within Mainland China, the following special numbers are used:

• 100xx - Telecommunications Customer Service (10000 for China Telecom, 10010 for China Unicom, 10086 for China Mobile)
• 101xx and 116- Premium service of China Unicom
• 1010xxxx - Special number by China Unicom
• 11185 - Post
• 114 - Directory assistance
• 118xxx - Premium service of China Telecom
• 12117 - Speaking clock
• 12122 - Highway service
• 123xx - Government service (ex. 12388 is report hotline of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Ministry of Supervision, 12306 is service hotline of China Railway)
• 125xx - Premium service of China Mobile
• 12121 or 96121- Weather
• 179xx - VoIP
• 95xxx, 95105xxx- Service number (nationally)
• 955xx - Bank, Insurance, Airlines service hotline (nationally, ex. 95588 is hotline of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China)
• 96xxx - Service number (locally)

(ex.962288- Shanghai foreigner assistant hotline,when dialing from other areas within China,dial 021-962288)

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:

Place	Prefix
Taiwan	00 886 xxx xxx xxx[4]
Hong Kong	00 852 xxxx xxxx[5]
Macau	00 853 xxxx xxxx[6]

See also

• Communications in the People's Republic of China
• Telephone numbers in Hong Kong
• Telephone numbers in Macau
• Toll-free telephone number, China

References

1. The story of Taiwan's calling code, Taipei Times, October 5, 2010
2. Nanhai No.1 & Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum, Yangjiang, China
3. "Document 68168" (in Chinese). Xianyang. 2006-09-16. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05.
4. China Vista, Eugene Law, China Intercontinental Press, 2004, page 519
5. China International Business: The Monthly Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, P.R.C, Issues 7-12, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, 2002
6. China Law, Issues 1-6, 2008, page 50

• "ITU allocations list". ITU-T. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02.

External links

• "Chinese Mobile Phone Directory" (in Chinese).