If you truly have nowhere to sleep, a 24-hour place is only an emergency fix for one night; go to a rescue station first

Cost

Waiting areas at airports and train stations are usually free. Fast-food restaurants and internet cafes cost a little to buy something. You won't sleep well, and your belongings may be stolen. The hard part is not daring to really sleep all night.

What you get

A 24-hour place can get you through a night, with toilets and charging, but there is no official figure on how safe it is. As for rescue stations, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (民政部) requires the assistance hotline to be open around the clock and staffed 24 hours a day. A person in distress who comes in asking for help is assisted first, as policy requires. People with no work lined up, who have been robbed or had things stolen, or who have suddenly lost their means of living can get emergency transitional living support. Places that can will open sites such as community service centers as temporary shelters. In winter, people in distress are also guided to rescue stations or temporary cold shelters. For those unwilling to enter a station, patrol staff give food, clothing and warm supplies and leave contact information for seeking help. Patrols are increased at night and in cold, rainy, snowy or icy weather. Train and bus stations, ports, underpasses, bridges and culverts, and construction sites are the priority patrol areas (nationwide; civil affairs departments have run special winter assistance campaigns every year since 2013)

Notes

The safety risks are real. Keep your belongings on your body, don't accept drinks or food from strangers, and avoid isolated corners. At night, do not sleep outdoors under bridges, by rivers or on construction sites. Sleeping outdoors in extreme weather can kill. For what a rescue station provides in food and housing and whether it gives a ticket, see §7.4 (go to a rescue station when you have nowhere else to turn). A rescue station takes only people who cannot arrange food and housing themselves and have no relatives or friends to turn to. You must explain your situation honestly when you enter; those who refuse to are not assisted. The Ministry of Civil Affairs requirements above come from the notice issued in the winter of 2022; each year local areas issue their own arrangements for that year, so go by what applies locally. Some places clear people out in the middle of the night, so don't get into a conflict with security.

Evidence grade

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

Sources

1. 作者经验（24 小时营业场所部分）
2. 民政部办公厅 (2022). 关于扎实做好「寒冬送温暖」专项救助行动的通知（第二、三、四、五部分；第三部分：「保证救助热线全天畅通，及时响应求助线索，对前来求助的遇困人员按政策规定先行实施救助」）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2022-12/11/content_5731351.htm
3. 民政部、中央政法委、公安部等 11 部门 (2020). 关于开展生活无着的流浪乞讨人员救助管理服务质量大提升专项行动的通知（民发〔2020〕14 号，第二部分第三项：「要持续做好极端天气下『寒冬送温暖』、『夏季送清凉』等专项救助工作」）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2020-03/24/content_5494916.htm
4. 民政部 (2003). 城市生活无着的流浪乞讨人员救助管理办法实施细则（民政部令第 24 号，第二、三、五条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2003/content_62510.htm

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 7, tip 21. 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