Telephone numbers in China
The Chinese Telephone Code Plan is the way to group telephone numbers in the mainland of the People's Republic of China. Land lines and mobile phones follow different systems: land lines use area codes, while mobile phones do not.
For land line area codes, a "0" is typically added in front when dialing domestic long distance from within mainland China, but is never added when dialing from outside mainland China. Domestic phone numbers in large cities have 8 digits, and in other areas 7 digits and no less. Mobile phone numbers have 11 digits without area codes.
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. See Hong Kong telephone numbering plan and Macau telephone numbering plan.
In addition, Taiwan and several islands of Fujian are under the control of the Republic of China. The PRC numbering plan reserves space for Taiwan, but they are not currently used. Currently phone numbers in areas under ROC control are under the separate international calling code of 886. See Telephone numbers in Taiwan.
[+] Country codes
Country Code: +86
International Call Prefix: 00
[+] Mobile phones
In mainland China, mobile phone numbers have 11 digits in the format 1xx-xxxx-xxxx. The first three digits of mobile phone numbers (13x, 15x and 18x) designate the mobile phone service provider and the next four digits is a regional code and the last four digits are assigned by the mobile service provider as part of the customer ID.
As the 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. The fourth digit was introduced later and is 0 for all old numbers. In a further extension, non-139,138,130 numbers were introduced. The fifth to seventh digit again relate 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:
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 (free trial cards, no longer distributed)
150 China Mobile GSM
151 China Mobile GSM
152 China Mobile GSM
153 China Telecom CDMA
155 China Unicom GSM
156 China Unicom GSM (upgradeable to WCDMA)
157 China Mobile TD-SCDMA
158 China Mobile GSM
159 China Mobile GSM
185 China Unicom WCDMA
186 China Unicom WCDMA
188 China Mobile TD-SCDMA
189 China Telecom CDMA
[+] Area 1
The prefix 1 is used exclusively by the national capital, Beijing Municipality.
[+] Area 2
These are area codes for the municipalities of Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing, as well as several large 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.
[+] Area 3
These are area codes for the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Henan.
[+] Hebei
[+] Shanxi
[+] Henan
[+] Area 4
These are area codes for the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, and the provinces in Northeast China (Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang).
[+] Inner Mongolia
[+] Liaoning
The provincial capital, Shenyang, uses code 24.
[+] Jilin
[+] Heilongjiang
[+] 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.
[+] Shandong - Area 5
While most areas in Shandong use the prefix 5, some areas also use the prefix 6.
[+] Anhui
[+] Zhejiang
[+] Fujian
- 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.
[+] Shandong - Area 6
While most areas in Shandong use the prefix 5, some areas also use the prefix 6.
[+] 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.
[+] Yunnan - Area 6
While most areas in Yunnan use the prefix 8, a couple of areas also use the prefix 6.
[+] Area 7
These are area codes for the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong (predominantly), Jiangxi, and the autonomous region of Guangxi.
[+] Hubei
The provincial capital of Wuhan uses code 27.
[+] Hunan
[+] Guangdong - Area 7
Some areas in Guangdong use the prefix 6, while the provincial capital of Guangzhou uses code 20.
[+] Guangxi
[+] Jiangxi
[+] 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 uses code 28.
[+] Guizhou
[+] Yunnan - Area 8
Some areas in Yunnan use the prefix 6.
[+] Tibet
[+] Hainan
[+] 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 of Xi'an uses code 29. Xianyang use same code as Xi'an since Sep. 16 2006[1]
[+] Gansu
[+] Ningxia
[+] Qinghai
[+] Xinjiang
[+] Emergency Numbers
From within Mainland China, the following emergency numbers are used (and mainly in major cities):
- 999, for all of the above services in Beijing and Shanghai, but it is privately operated.
In most cities, the emergency numbers provide assistance in English and Mandarin.
(to be completed)
[+] Others
From within Mainland China, the following special numbers are used:
(to be completed — more here)
[+] International Access Code
The international access code from the PRC is 00. This must also be used for calls to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao from the Chinese mainland, together with their separate international codes. However, calls are charged at discounted rates. Examples are as follows:
Taiwan 00 886 ...
Hong Kong 00 852 xxxx xxxx
Macao SAR 00 853 xxx xxxx
US/Canada 00 1 xxx xxx xxxx
Singapore 00 65 xxxx xxxx
[+] References
[+] See also
China Mobile Number Locator
Useful phone numbers in China
Languages
How to find people in China?
Use this list of telephones services to search phone numbers in China. -
Where to search mobile phone numbers in China? -
Use the list of mobile services to locate the phone operator and special dial codes for each China.
Where to find the area codes for the cities in China?
The directory includes a list of City Dial Codes for China.
Use the China list on the menu to find more telephone information for the cities in China.
Where to find white pages in China?
Use the white pages section to find free information about phone numbers, address, names and other information very helpful to locate people.
Where to search yellow pages in China?
The list of yellow pages in China can be used to find
more information to locate for business and other professional services
Phone Numbers, Address and more.
.: You can use this list with telephone numbers search services to find phone information about people or business.
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