China's 2025 official English guide says a lost passport should be reported immediately to local police, followed by replacement travel and immigration documents as required by the embassy or consulate and immigration authority. This is a practical sequence, not a substitute for official instructions.
Fix the loss facts and last known location
Once the passport is missing, stop unnecessary transfers and check the hotel safe, reception, vehicle, restaurant, attraction desk and last payment location. Record when and where it was last seen. Report the loss immediately to local police and obtain the certificate required by their procedure. If cards and phone are also missing, freeze the accounts, SIM and payment tools.
Do not post the passport number, visa page or complete police document on social media, and do not pay an individual claiming to provide a fast replacement. Keep police, hotel, ticket, payment and contact records for embassy, consular and immigration checks.
Then contact the embassy or consulate and immigration
Ask your country's embassy or consulate in China about photographs, identity evidence, fees and collection for a replacement passport or temporary international travel document. After receiving it, follow the public-security exit-entry administration's requirements for a visa or stay/residence document. The National Immigration Administration's 12367 hotline can explain general procedures.
Timing differs by nationality, identity verification, holiday and office arrangements. Notify hotels, railways or airlines promptly and retain evidence of the delay. A police loss certificate alone is not automatically a full passport, visa or exit authorization.
Recheck every leg of the return journey
The official guide lists a passport-loss report certificate and a temporary international travel document issued by an embassy or consulate together with a valid visa or stay/residence document among railway identity materials. Ticketing, real-name checks and boarding still depend on railway verification. Airlines, hotels and border transport may use different document rules, so contact each separately.
If the original passport is found, do not use it until police, the embassy or immigration authority confirms its status, because a reported document may have been cancelled. A multilingual guide may assist ordinary communication but cannot report the loss, collect the document or sign official forms for the traveler.