Lost Something in China? How to Recover Items Left on Trains, Taxis and in Hotels
If you have lost property in China as a tourist, you should report the loss while the train or car is still moving. The crew on the train can conduct an immediate search, which will be your best bet. In case of a train, use 12306, either through the app or hotline, providing train number, compartment, seat, time, and brief description.
As for the taxi, the receipt issued by the driver or trip record from the app is the key to identifying the car. Found property can be claimed at a station or office using your passport, and some stations are able to deliver the property to another city. If you need to claim insurance, contact the police for the loss report.
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NO.1
You just noticed, what do you do in the first hour?
Before you leave
1. If traveling by train or in the train station - Inform the attendant (列车员) or any railway staff about the lost property and your seat number. You will need to show the ticket on your phone.
2. If traveling by taxi – Inform the driver about losing your property. Request the taxi receipt no matter whether the taxi is still there or not.
First hour
3. Note the journey details. In case of a train - the number (G102 for example), carriage, seat number, direction and time of travel. In case of a taxi - your entrance and exit locations and the payment method.
4. Note the item description in Chinese using your translation service and save the translation.
5. Screenshot the ticket or trip information.
6. File the 12306 report if it was on the train or in the station. Below are the exact instructions.
Same day
7. Check progress in 12306 using 进度查询 (progress check). The staff is supposed to reach out to you with the information, so answer any phone calls coming from unknown numbers.
8. Lost passport? Get to your local police department (派出所) today. The passport segment will provide instructions on that.
Next day
9. Got no news yet? Call the 12306 hotline number.
10. Need any documents for insurance purposes? Request a report of loss at the police station before leaving the city.
Lost on a train or at a station
Step | What to do | What to have ready | Note |
1. Open the form | Tap 我的 (Me) > 温馨服务 > 遗失物品 > 遗失物品查找, or "Looking for lost items" on the home page. | Your 12306 login | This is the Chinese interface. Names in English mode may differ. |
2. Add passenger details | Pick the passenger. Registered users can file for themselves and anyone on their booking. | Your passport number and a phone number that works | If the form won't take passport details, call the 12306 hotline. |
3. Add item details | Enter the train number, where you sat and your description. | Carriage, seat, time, Chinese description | The more exact, the better. |
4. Add a photo | Upload a picture of the item if you have one. | A photo from your gallery | Optional |
5. Submit | Send the form and screenshot the confirmation. | Your saved notes | Keep the screenshot for insurance. |
6. Check progress | Tap 进度查询 at the top right. | Your login | China News Service reported in February 2024 that at Jinan Station, staff reply within 2 hours and usually have a result the same day. |
What if I am still on the train?
Tell the attendant at once. Both the attendant and the train manager will conduct the search. In case any suitcase requires checking, railway police will be on scene during the process.
• Provide your carriage number and seat number;
• Show the Chinese description on your phone.
What if I have already left the station?
Report on the website 12306 as soon as possible. When crew find an item after the owner has got off, they write a passenger transport record (客运记录) and hand the item to the owner's arrival station. If nobody knows whose it is, it goes to the next station or to the last stop on the line.
• When staff contact you, ask which station is holding it.
How does the item get back to me?
You collect it from the station's lost-and-found office (失物招领处) with your passport, or ask for it to be moved. Staff check it is yours, for example by asking what is inside the bag.
Option | How it works | Cost | Timing |
Collect in person | Go to the lost-and-found office with your passport. | The railway may charge storage fees | Within the station's holding period |
Transfer by train | Ask staff to send it to a station near you. | Free for items within 5 kg, as Qujing North Station and 12306 customer service confirmed to the media in July 2026. Heavier items are not sent by train. | Ask the holding station |
Express delivery | Book China Railway Express from the 12306 progress page, at stations that offer it. | Paid | High-speed express: same or next day. Standard: 3 to 5 days. |
Fresh or perishable food is not stored. Ask the station to confirm it offers delivery before you plan around it.
If you have to stay a night to collect, a hotel close to the station saves a long trip back.
Lost in a taxi or a ride-hailing car
| Street taxi | DiDi |
How to find the car | The plate number and company on the receipt. If you paid by WeChat or Alipay, your payment record may show car details. | Open the trip in your trip history. |
Who to contact | The taxi company on the receipt. In many cities, the transport hotline 12328 can give you the company's number or log the loss. | The driver, through the Lost Item or report option on that trip. Calls use masked numbers. |
What you need | The receipt, the time, and where you got in and out | The trip record |
What it may cost | Ask the company. Never pay an unofficial finder. | DiDi's rules let the driver ask you to cover the return fare or courier cost, but not an extra reward. Check the app for the current rules. |
Chance of success | Fair with a receipt. Low with cash and no receipt. | Better, because the trip record already shows the car and driver. |
What if I paid cash and have no receipt?
This case often fails. Report it anyway by calling the city service hotline 12345. It runs 24 hours a day and gives help in several languages to foreigners.
• Before you call, note the time and the places you got in and out.
• In cities that run 12328, call that line as well.
If your phone is the thing you lost, a new phone needs data before DiDi or 12306 will work.
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Lost at a hotel, an attraction, a metro station or an airport
Mode | Who to contact | How | Information they need | Where the item is kept | What you need to collect it | Evidence for insurance |
Train (on board) | Attendant or train manager; 12306 after you leave | In person; 12306 app or hotline | Train number, carriage, seat, time, description | Your arrival station, or the next station or terminus | Passport | 12306 screenshots; police loss report |
Railway station | Any railway staff member; 12306 | In person; 12306 app or hotline | Where in the station, time, description | The station's lost-and-found office | Passport | 12306 screenshots; police loss report |
Metro | Station staff; 12345 | In person or by phone | Station, line, time, description | Ask the station | Passport | Police loss report |
Street taxi | Company on the receipt; 12328 in many cities; 12345 | Phone | Receipt, time, route | With the company or driver | Ask the company | Taxi receipt; police loss report |
DiDi | The driver, through the app | Lost Item option on the trip | The trip record | With the driver | Arrange it in the app | Trip screenshot; police loss report |
Hotel | Hotel staff | Phone or in person | Room number, check-out date, description | Ask the hotel | Passport | Hotel invoice; police loss report |
Attraction | Attraction staff | In person or by phone | Time, area visited, description | Ask the attraction | Passport | Police loss report |
Airport terminal | The terminal's lost-and-found | In person | Terminal, area, time, description | The terminal | Passport | Police loss report |
On the plane | Your airline | Through the airline | Flight number, date, seat | The airline | Passport | Written proof from the airline |
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Getting it back, or documenting that you cannot
Item | What to do | What to keep |
Your passport | Show it at the collection office. | Nothing extra |
Someone else collecting | Ask the office first. At the time of writing, offices may ask for a written authorisation plus copies of both IDs. | Your signed note and the ID copies |
Transfer or courier | Ask the holding station which options it offers (see the train section). | Transfer or tracking details |
Holding period | Ask the holding station. Periods differ: one station reports 180 days, another one year. | The deadline, in your calendar |
Police loss record | Ask at the local police station if you lost the item. | The original record |
Theft report | Only if the item was stolen. | The original report |
Your insurer's evidence | Check your policy for its deadline and documents. | Receipts, police or carrier proof, screenshots |
If the station holding your item is across town, a booked transfer gets you there and back.
When the loss is your passport or your entry document
1. Get a passport loss report (护照报失证明). Go to the local police station (派出所) or the city's Exit-Entry Administration (part of the Public Security Bureau) the same day. Bring copies or photos of your passport and visa page if you have them. Shanghai and Shenzhen say it is usually issued within 1 to 2 working days. In an emergency, call 110.
2. Get a new travel document from your embassy or consulate. Take the passport loss report with you and apply for a new passport or an emergency travel document.
3. Go back to the Exit-Entry Administration for a visa or an exit-entry permit. With a new passport, you apply for a reissued visa, and the passport loss report is your evidence. If your embassy in China cannot replace your passport, you apply for an Alien's Exit-Entry Permit (外国人出入境证) instead, which is valid for no more than 30 days (National Immigration Administration, 外国人申请签证证件须知, section on 申请出入境证, checked 19 October 2026).
4. Allow time for processing. The Consulate-General of Singapore in Chengdu says the exit permit typically takes about 5 to 7 working days.
5. Leave China before your new visa or exit-entry permit runs out. The exit-entry permit gives you no more than 30 days.
Can I still take trains and stay in hotels while I wait?
For train, yes, you can. China Railway's ID rules for foreign passengers list the passport loss report (护照报失证明) and the Alien's Exit-Entry Permit as valid ID for buying tickets (published on Shenzhen's official portal EyeShenzhen, July 2024; checked 19 October 2026). Buy at a station ticket window, because the 12306 app and website only accept a foreign passport or permanent residence card. But as for hotels, you will need to contact the hotel beforehand and inquire if they accept the passport loss report for check-in. Make sure you have the passport loss report and your passport copies with you.
Once you know when your new documents will be ready, search Trip.com flights home for a date after that.
Common mistakes and failure cases
Mistake | What happens | Why it happens | How to recover | Evidence to keep |
When you get off the train before telling the train staff | Once you leave, nobody on board knows to look. The item may still turn up, but later. | You have a connecting train to catch and realize this problem only at the taxi stand. | Submit in 12306 immediately with your seat number. | Your 12306 report and progress screenshots. |
No taxi receipt | Without a receipt, there is no license plate number. You need to rely on other information. | It is easy to forget when you are juggling bags and children. | Check your WeChat or Alipay record if you paid that way. Then call 12345, or 12328 where it runs. | A screenshot of your payment record and a police loss record. |
Trusting an unofficial "finder" | Someone online or near the station may offer to find your item for a fee. Station staff warn passengers not to trust these services. | You are stressed, and they sound sure of themselves. | Stop contacting them and go back to 12306 or the operator. | Your official 12306 or operator report, which is the record that counts. |
Not collecting items past deadline | Items are not kept forever. Each station has its own deadline and after that the items are processed under national guidelines. | You leave the city hoping to get everything sorted out later. | Find out about the deadline as soon as the station contacts you. If you cannot go back, enquire about transferring or having the items sent to you. | The station's deadline, saved next to your 12306 report. |
Having no paperwork for the insurer | You get home, file a claim, and it stalls for lack of proof. By then, the police station and the holding office are far away. | You were busy chasing the item, not the papers. | Gather your screenshots and receipts. If you are still in China, get a police loss record before you leave. | Police or carrier proof, receipts and screenshots. |
Finding out your passport is gone at the airport | You cannot fly out without a valid document. The replacement takes several working days. | You last used it at hotel check-in, and nobody asked for it again. | Call 110 or go to a police station that day. Then follow the passport steps above and change your flight. | The passport loss report (护照报失证明), plus your new visa or exit-entry permit. |
FAQs on lost property China tourist
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How do I find something I left on a China train?
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Can my lost item be sent to another city?
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I left my phone in a DiDi. What now?
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How long do lost-and-found offices in China keep items?
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Do I need a police report for travel insurance?
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What do I do if I lose my passport in China?
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