Telephone numbers in China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
China telephone numbers
CHN orthographic.svg
Location
CountryChina
ContinentAsia
RegulatorMIIT
TypeOpen
Access codes
Country calling code+86
International call prefix00
Trunk prefix0
Map of the area codes

Telephone numbers in China are organized according to the Chinese Telephone Code Plan. The numerical formats of landlines and mobile phones are different: landlines have area-codes, whereas mobile phones do not. In major cities, landline-numbers consist of a two-digit area code followed by an eight-digit inner-number. In other places, landline-numbers consist of a three-digit area code followed by a seven- or eight-digit inner-number. The numbers of mobile phones consist of eleven digits.

When one landline is used to dial another landline within the same area, it is not necessary to specify the area-code. Between different areas, the target-number must be prepended with the trunk-prefix, which is 0.

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 do not require the "0". The "0" is not dialled 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 once reserved space for Taiwan (currently +886), but have dropped this practice.

Mobile phones[]

In mainland China, mobile phone numbers have 11 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 9, and had the same numbering format with fixed-line telephones. Those numbers were eventually translated into 1390xx9xxx, where xx were local identifiers.[1]

The oldest China Mobile GSM numbers were 10-digit 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 131 in 1998. Keeping the same number over time is somewhat associated with stability and reliability of the owner. The 5th to 7th digit sometimes relates to age and location.

As the 4th digit was introduced on July 22, 1999, China's mobile phone numbers upgraded from 10-digit to 11-digit, with 0 added after 13x, and thus HLR code became 4-digit long, to expand the capacity of the seriously fully crowded numbering plan.

In 2006, 15x numbers were introduced.[2] 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 is required to be consigned to a real name in mainland China.

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

Prefix Provider Network
130–132 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM
133 China Telecom1 LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
134(0–8) China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
1349 Chinasat Satellite
135–139 China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
140 (13 digits) China Unicom (IoT) LTE/WCDMA/GSM
141 (13 digits) China Telecom (IoT) LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
144 (13 digits) China Mobile (IoT) LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
145 China Unicom (formerly Data-plans only) LTE/WCDMA
146 China Unicom (IoT) LTE/WCDMA/GSM
147 China Mobile (formerly Data-plans only) LTE/TD-SCDMA
148 China Mobile (IoT) LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
149 China Telecom (formerly Data-plans only) LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
150/1/2/7/8/9 China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
153 China Telecom1 LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
155/6 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM
162 China Telecom (VNO) LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
165 China Mobile (VNO) LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
166 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM
167 China Unicom (VNO) LTE/WCDMA/GSM
170(0/1/2) China Telecom (VNO) LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
170(3/5/6) China Mobile (VNO) LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
170(4/7/8/9) China Unicom (VNO) LTE/WCDMA/GSM
171 China Unicom (VNO) LTE/WCDMA/GSM
172/8 China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
173/7 China Telecom LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
174(00-05) Chinasat Satellite
1749 Inmarsat2 Satellite
175/6 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM
180/1/9 China Telecom LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
182/3/4/7/8 China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
185/6 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM
190/1/3/9 China Telecom LTE/CDMA2000/cdmaOne
192 China Broadcasting Network LTE/WCDMA/GSM
195/7/8 China Mobile LTE/TD-SCDMA/GSM
196 China Unicom LTE/WCDMA/GSM

1 – China Unicom before 2009

2 – Operated by China Transport Telecommunication & Information Center

Calling formats[]

To call in China, the following format is used:

  • For fixed phones:

xxx xxxx | xxxx xxxx Calls within the same area code

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

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

  • For mobile phones:

1nn xxxx xxxx Calls to mobile phones within China

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

Area 1 – Capital Operation Center[]

The prefix 1 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. 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.

All telephone numbers are 8-digit in these areas.

  • Guangzhou – 20
  • Shanghai – 21
  • Tianjin – 22
  • Chongqing – 23 (formerly 811, 814, 819, 810, 829, all abolished in 1997)
  • Shenyang, Tieling, Fushun, Benxi – 24
  • Nanjing – 25
  • Proposed use: Taipei – 26
  • Wuhan – 27
  • Chengdu, Meishan, Ziyang – 28
  • Xi'an, Xianyang – 29

Area 3 – Northern China Operation Center[]

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

Hebei – 31x 33x[]

  • 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 (山西) – 34x 35x[]

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

Henan – 37x 39x[]

  • Zhengzhou – 371 (8-digit)
  • Kaifeng – 371 (8-digit, formerly 378, abolished)
  • Anyang – 372
  • Xinxiang – 373
  • Xuchang – 374
  • Pingdingshan – 375
  • Xinyang – 376 (8-digit, former Huangchuan special area is 397, abolished in 2005)
  • 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 – 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[citation needed].

Liaoning – 41x 42x[]

The provincial capital, Shenyang, and Tieling (formerly 410, abolished), Fushun (formerly 413, abolished), Benxi (formerly 414, abolished), 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 – 43x 44x[]

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

Heilongjiang – 45x 46x[]

  • Harbin – 451 (8-digit, Acheng formerly 450, abolished)
  • Qiqihar – 452
  • Mudanjiang – 453
  • Jiamusi – 454
  • Suihua – 455
  • Heihe – 456
  • Daxing'anling – 457
  • Yichun (伊春) – 458
  • Daqing – 459
  • Qitaihe – 464
  • Jixi – 467
  • Hegang – 468
  • Shuangyashan – 469

Inner Mongolia – 47x 48x[]

  • 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 – Eastern China Operating Center[]

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

Jiangsu – 51x 52x[]

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

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

Shandong – 53x 54x[]

  • Ji'nan – 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

Some areas in Shandong also use the prefix 63x:

Anhui – 55x 56x[]

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

Zhejiang – 57x 58x[]

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

Fujian – 59x 50x[]

  • Fuzhou (福州) – 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 part of the Republic of China; and are under the 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).[3]

Shandong – 63x[]

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

Guangdong – 66x[]

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

Yunnan – 69x[]

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

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[]

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 – 73x 74x[]

  • Changsha – 731 (8-digit)
  • Xiangtan – 731 (8-digit, formerly 732, abolished)
  • Zhuzhou – 731 (8-digit, formerly 733, abolished)
  • Hengyang – 734
  • Chenzhou – 735
  • Changde – 736
  • Yiyang – 737
  • Loudi – 738
  • Shaoyang – 739
  • Yueyang – 730
  • Jishou – 743
  • Zhangjiajie – 744
  • Huaihua – 745
  • Yongzhou – 746

Guangdong – 75x 76x[]

The provincial capital of Guangdong, 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)

Some areas in Guangdong use the prefix 66x:

Guangxi – 77x 78x[]

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

Jiangxi – 79x 70x[]

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

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.

Sichuan – 81x 82x 83x[]

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
  • Luzhou – 830
  • Yibin – 831
  • Neijiang – 832
  • Leshan – 833
  • Xichang – 834
  • Ya'an – 835
  • Kangding – 836
  • Ngawa – 837
  • Deyang – 838
  • Guangyuan – 839

Guizhou – 85x 86x[]

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

Yunnan – 87x 88x[]

  • Kunming – 871 (8-digit) (Dongchuan 881, which is incorporated into 871)
  • Dali – 872
  • Gejiu – 873
  • Qujing – 874
  • Baoshan – 875
  • Wenshan – 876
  • Yuxi – 877
  • Chuxiong – 878
  • Simao – 879
    • 879 is also the de facto dial code for the military regime Wa State in Myanmar
  • Zhaotong – 870
  • Lincang – 883
  • Nujiang – 886
  • Zhongdian – 887
  • Lijiang – 888

Some areas in Yunnan use the prefix 69x:

Tibet/Xizang – 89(1–7)[]

Hainan – 898[]

  • Hainan – 898 (8-digit)

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.

Shaanxi (陕西) – 91x 92x[]

The provincial capital Xi'an uses code 29. Xianyang, uses the same code as Xi'an starting from 16 September 2006.[5] Before that, its area code is 918.

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

Gansu – 93x 94x[]

Ningxia – 95x 96x[]

Qinghai – 97x 98x[]

Xinjiang – 99x 90x[]

  • 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 (12110 for text to police)
  • 119 – Fire brigade (12119 for forest fire in some regions)
  • 120 – Beijing EMS Ambulance
  • 122 – Traffic accident (incorporated into 110 in some cities) (12122 on highway)
  • 999 – Privately operated ambulance (Beijing ONLY, calls outside Beijing is 010-999)

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

Starting from 2012 in Shenzhen, a system upgrade was put in place to unify three emergency reporting services into one number, 110. This similar system 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. On China Telecom phones, error messages "Number does not exist" will be played, NO SERVICES will be redirected.

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, 10020-10049 for VNOs)
  • 101xx and 116xxx – Premium service of China Unicom
  • 1010 xxxx – Special number by China Unicom
  • 11185 – Post
  • 114 – Directory assistance
  • 118xxx – Premium service of China Telecom (e.g. 118114)
  • 12117 – Speaking clock
  • 12121 – Weather
  • 12122 – Highway service
  • 123xx – Government service (e.g. 12388 – Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Ministry of Supervision, 12306 – China Railway, 12355 – Help Hotline For Children and Youth)
  • 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)
  • 160xxxxx, 168xxxxx – Telephone information service
  • 179xx + target number followed – VoIP (e.g. 17901-133-0000-0000)
  • 200, 201 – IC telephone service
  • 400 xxx xxxx, 800 xxx xxxx – business numbers
  • 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.)

(ex. 962288 in Shanghai – Shanghai foreigner assistant hotline, calls outside Shanghai is 021-962288, or error message will be played or undesired service will be reached)

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
(All countries) 00 CountryCode AreaCode SubscriberCode
Taiwan 00 886 xxx xxx xxx[6]
Hong Kong 00 852 xxxx xxxx[7]
Macau 00 853 xxxx xxxx[8]
NANP 00 1 xxx xxx xxxx
UK 00 44 xxxxxxxxxx
Japan 00 81 xxxxxxxxx

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "中国手机号码设计及长度的演变_显赫的破墙_新浪博客". blog.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  2. ^ "提示信息 - 通信人家园 - Powered by C114". www.txrjy.com. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  3. ^ The story of Taiwan's calling code, Taipei Times, October 5, 2010
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Nanhai No.1 & Guangdong Maritime Silk Road Museum Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Document 68168" (in Chinese). Xianyang. 2006-09-16. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05.
  6. ^ China Vista, Eugene Law, China Intercontinental Press, 2004, page 519
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ China Law, Issues 1–6, 2008, page 50

External links[]

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