China’s Country Codes
- Telephone: +86
- 2 Letter: CN
- 3 Letter: CHN
- ISO 3116-1 Numeric: 156
- ISO 3116-2: CN
- Internet TLD: .cn
- ICAO Airport Code: Z
- Maritime Identification Digits: 412, 413, 414
- Emoji Flag: U+1F1E8 U+1F1F3
- Official Name: The People’s Republic of China
How to call China (international dialing)
- Do not include a leading ‘0’ in the international call sequence – it is for Chinese domestic long distance calls and domestic calls to a mobile phone.
- A leading '+' in the phone number means 'dial your country's exit code'.
- Calling from a mobile phone: dial from on the country where you're currently located.
- Calling from a VoIP or satellite phone: dial from on the country where the phone is registered.
… to a mobile (cellular) phone or text (SMS)
Use the same call sequence.
Mobile phone numbers begin with ‘1’, except for ’10’ (the area code for Beijing).
When calling a mobile phone user, dial to the country where the mobile phone is registered, regardless of where the person is currently roaming.
… to a VoIP phone
Use the same call sequence.
VoIP phone numbers begin with ‘179’.
When calling a VoIP phone user, cdial to the country where the VoIP phone is registered, regardless of where the person is currently roaming.
… to a satellite phone
ChinaSat has phone numbers starting with ‘1349’.
Most satellite phones operate on their country code – calls to these satellite phones follow their call sequence.
… sending a fax
Use the same call sequence.
How to call within China (domestic calling)
‘0’ is used as a trunk prefix when calling to a landline in a different area code within China.
Local calling (within the same area code)
To call within the same area code, dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| seven to eight digits |
| local phone number |
Long distance calling (to a different area code, or from a mobile phone)
To dial to a different area code, or when calling from a mobile phone dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ and the area code.
| 0 | two to three digits | seven to eight digits |
| trunk prefix | area code | local phone number |
Mobile calling (to a mobile phone)
To call a mobile phone dial the operator code followed by the phone number. There is no trunk prefix (leading ‘0’) when calling a mobile phone.
| 1xx | seven digits |
| operator code | phone number |
Chinese phone numbers explained
Number details
Chinese phone numbers are ten to eleven digits.
The first two to three digits are a geographic (area) code.
Mobile numbers being with digit ‘1’ (except for ’10’ – the area code for Beijing).
An example of a Chinese phone number
The Fairmont Beijing lists its phone number in Beijing as +86 10 8511 7777.
Number explanation
| 86 | 10 | 8511 7777 |
| country code for China | geographic (area) code for Beijing | local phone number within Beijing |
Local example – calling from another location in Beijing
To call within the same area code dial only the local phone number. Do not dial the trunk prefix ‘0’ or the area code.
| 8511 7777 |
| local phone number in Beijing |
Long distance example – calling from Guangzhou, China (on the other side of the country)
To call to a different area code dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, followed by the area code and local phone number.
| 0 | 10 | 8511 7777 |
| trunk prefix | geographic (area) code for Beijing | local phone number within Beijing |
Mobile example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile roaming in China)
To call from a mobile phone dial the trunk prefix ‘0’, followed by the area code and local phone number.
| 0 | 10 | 8511 7777 |
| trunk prefix | geographic (area) code for Beijing | local phone number within Beijing |
International example – calling from outside of China
To call from outside China, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by China’s country code of ’86’, followed by the local phone number.
Do not include a leading ‘0’ in the call when calling from outside China.
| exit code | 86 | 10 | 8511 7777 |
| exit code for the country the call is dialed from | country code for China | geographic (area) code for Beijing | local phone number within Beijing |
How to call from China
’00’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international phone call from China.
Dial calls to Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as an international call by using the exit code.
Sources and more resources
- Ministry of Information Industry – China’s telephone systems regulator.
- ITU (International Telecommunications Union) – United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies.
- International Telecommunications Union – DIALLING PROCEDURES (INTERNATIONAL PREFIX, NATIONAL (TRUNK) PREFIX AND NATIONAL (SIGNIFICANT) NUMBER) (IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITU-T RECOMMENDATION E.164 (11/2010)) – A collection of dialing procedures for all countries and regions of the world. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- International Telecommunications Union – China (country code +86) National Numbering Plan – Details of China’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in China – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for China. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – China – Entry for China in the British Telecom international directory.