If an older person falls or someone collapses, crouch down, call to them and call 120 (China's ambulance number); don't rush to pull them up. Walking away from a stranger is also legal in China, but if you stop, don't move them

In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

Cost

Free. Crouching down to ask a question and making a phone call take a few minutes. The hard part is holding back the urge to reach out and pull them up. With a stranger there is one more cost to count: calling 120 leaves your number, and you may get a call back or be asked questions once. If the family does fix on you, a lawsuit takes months at the least. Even if you win in the end, you pay your own lawyer.

What you get

The Ministry of Health's Technical Guide for Intervening in Falls of Older People (《老年人跌倒干预技术指南》) says two things. One is "falls are the leading cause of injury death among people in China aged 65 and over." The other is "when you find an older person who has fallen, do not rush to help them up, but handle it according to the situation." If they are not fully conscious, call the emergency number at once. If they are vomiting, turn the head to one side and clear the mouth and nose. If breathing and heartbeat have stopped, start chest compressions at once. "If they must be moved, do it steadily and keep them as flat as possible." If they are conscious, first ask whether they remember how they fell: "if they cannot remember, it may be a faint or a stroke." If they have a severe headache, or a crooked mouth, slurred speech, or weakness in the arms and legs, "helping the older person up at once may worsen brain bleeding or reduced blood supply to the brain, making the condition worse." If there are signs of a fracture, or pain in the back or lower back, or loss of bladder or bowel control, "do not move them casually unless you have the relevant professional knowledge." In all of these cases, call the emergency number at once. If the older person wants to stand up on their own, you may help them rise slowly, and "have them sit or lie down to rest and watch them, and leave only after confirming they are fine." On "being afraid of being falsely blamed," this is what the law says. Article 90 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law (《最高人民法院关于适用〈中华人民共和国民事诉讼法〉的解释》) has two sentences. The first is "a party must provide evidence to prove the facts that its claims rest on..." The second is "before judgment, if a party fails to provide evidence, or the evidence is not enough to prove its factual claims, the party that bears the burden of proof bears the adverse consequences." Article 1198 of the Civil Code reads: "Where a manager or operator of a hotel, mall, bank, station, airport, sports venue, entertainment venue or other business or public place, or an organizer of a mass activity, fails to fulfill its duty to ensure safety and causes harm to another person, it shall bear tort liability." Article 184 of the Civil Code: "Where a person voluntarily carries out emergency help and causes harm to the person helped, the helper bears no civil liability." The Supreme People's Court has published a typical case. A pharmacy operator gave CPR to a person in cardiac arrest and broke the person's ribs. The person helped was hospitalized for 18 days and claimed more than 9,000 (9千余) CNY. The court ruled that the helper bore no civil liability

Notes

Graded B because the guide says only what to do, and gives no figures on how many deaths following it prevents. Article 184 excuses harm caused during a rescue, on the condition that you act voluntarily and the situation is an emergency. It does not cover things like "deciding on your own to put the person in a private car and drive them to hospital"; waiting for 120 is safer. After calling 120, don't hang up, and do what the dispatcher on the line tells you. This way of judging is first of all for older people in your own family and people you know. For an unknown person on the road, walking away is not illegal and is the easiest course: Chinese law does not say you must rescue. Abroad it may be different. In Germany, for example, failing to help at an accident or emergency when you could help without putting yourself in serious danger is itself a crime, with up to 1 year in prison or a fine. If you are abroad, local law applies. The bill for stopping has to be counted layer by layer: time, leaving your number, being sought out by the family, being sued, trouble reaching your workplace, being filmed and posted online. For details see the page on whether to stop when a stranger is in trouble (in Chinese). If you do decide to stop, the one thing you must do is not to move them, for a medical reason: forcing them up may worsen a brain bleed or a spinal injury. There is one exception: if you run or manage the place, or organized the activity, walking away may make you liable. The duty to ensure safety under Article 1198 of the Civil Code requires you to take a share of responsibility for the safety of the people in your venue. For preventing falls themselves, see §1.13 (train balance and leg strength). For delayed symptoms after an older person bumps their head, see §13.10. For money after you are hurt while rescuing, see §13.39. For how to keep evidence and report to the police if you are attacked online, see §8.16.

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. Ministry of Health (2011). Technical Guide for Fall Intervention in Older Adults [in Chinese] (section "Handling After a Fall in Older Adults"). Full-text PDF from the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://cdcp.gd.gov.cn/gcdcdfiles/editor/uploadfile/20111027094832117.pdf; the full text of the on-site handling part is republished by the People's Government of Guinan County https://www.guinan.gov.cn/lnb/zc1__zwgk/zc/aztfl/qt/content_27609778
2. National People's Congress (2020). Civil Code [in Chinese] (Articles 183 and 184). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
3. Supreme People's Court (2023). Typical Cases of People's Courts Delivering Fairness and Efficiency and Practicing the Core Socialist Values [in Chinese] (Case 13, a dispute over the right to health between a plaintiff surnamed Qi and a defendant surnamed Sun, Kangping County People's Court, Liaoning Province). https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/408162.html
4. Supreme People's Court (2022 second amendment, in force April 10, 2022). Interpretation on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China [in Chinese] (Article 90). https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/353651.html
5. Civil Code, Article 1198, same as above (full text republished by the Supreme People's Procuratorate)
6. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2023 amendment, in force January 1, 2024). Civil Procedure Law [in Chinese] (Articles 152 and 164). Full text republished by the Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-zc-2.4.1-h5/20240408/073febdb2b04464390546232d4089f51.html
7. State Council (2006). Measures on the Payment of Litigation Costs [in Chinese] (State Council Order No. 481, Articles 6 and 29). https://www.gov.cn/ziliao/flfg/2006-12/29/content_483682.htm
8. National People's Congress Standing Committee (2025). Public Security Administration Punishments Law [in Chinese] (2025 revision, in force January 1, 2026, Article 26, item 1, and Article 50, item 5). https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml
9. German Federal Ministry of Justice. Strafgesetzbuch (StGB) § 323c Unterlassene Hilfeleistung; Behinderung von hilfeleistenden Personen. https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__323c.html

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 2. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer