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 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 (docs/遇到陌生人出事该不该停.md). 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. 卫生部 (2011). 老年人跌倒干预技术指南（「老年人跌倒后的处理」）. 全文 PDF 见广东省疾病预防控制中心 http://cdcp.gd.gov.cn/gcdcdfiles/editor/uploadfile/20111027094832117.pdf，现场处理部分全文见贵南县人民政府转载 https://www.guinan.gov.cn/lnb/zc1__zwgk/zc/aztfl/qt/content_27609778
2. 全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第一百八十三、一百八十四条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml
3. 最高人民法院 (2023). 人民法院抓实公正与效率践行社会主义核心价值观典型案例（案例十三，齐某某诉孙某某健康权纠纷案，辽宁省康平县人民法院）. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/408162.html
4. 最高人民法院 (2022 年第二次修正，2022 年 4 月 10 日施行). 关于适用《中华人民共和国民事诉讼法》的解释（第九十条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/353651.html
5. 民法典第一千一百九十八条同上最高检转载全文
6. 全国人大常委会 (2023 年修正，2024 年 1 月 1 日施行). 民事诉讼法（第一百五十二、一百六十四条）. 上海市发展和改革委员会转载全文 https://fgw.sh.gov.cn/ys-syjf-zc-2.4.1-h5/20240408/073febdb2b04464390546232d4089f51.html
7. 国务院 (2006). 诉讼费用交纳办法（国务院令第 481 号，第六、二十九条）. https://www.gov.cn/ziliao/flfg/2006-12/29/content_483682.htm
8. 全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，2026 年 1 月 1 日起施行，第二十六条第一项、第五十条第五项）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml
9. 德国联邦司法部. 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