How a phone call helped an Indian traveler get his unpaid refund

Editor's Note: CGTN presents "My City, My Say," a special series featuring real stories from cities across China, where everyday concerns meet practical solutions. Through video and storytelling, the series explores how 12345 service hotlines help people make their voices heard and how local communities turn public requests into concrete action, offering a glimpse into China's vision of the "people's city."

"Hello, this is Zhejiang 12345 Government Service Hotline. How can I help you?"

The English greeting was the first thing Suhain heard after dialing 12345, China's one-stop government service hotline for handling everyday inquiries and urgent complaints.

Worried about an unpaid refund, Suhain, an Indian traveler who had stayed in China earlier in the year, reached out to the Chinese public service hotline from India, and he was surprised by the reception. No translation was needed, and no resistance was shown in providing aid; the hotline, originally designated for Chinese citizens, provided ready service to the foreign traveler who had already returned to his home country.

Earlier this year, Suhain rented a place in Yinzhou District in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province. Due to the expiration of his passport, Suhain had to end his rental before the contract date, but he did not receive the prepaid rent and deposit after he returned to India.

After Suhain's inquiry, officials at the Zhejiang hotline service connected him with his landlord and lawyers who mediated the dispute online. Legal consultations determined that while Suhain's notice to the landlord could be considered an oral modification of his lease term, his early termination led to financial losses for the landlord, which justifies a partial refund.

After receiving his refund, Suhain texted the officials who supported him along the way, "It is solved, thank you."

As Zhejiang has become an increasingly popular destination for work and travel for those outside the country, the 12345 hotline has also evolved with shifting demands. It now has foreign-language operators available during work hours, ready to answer questions about border exit-entry policies, work visas, housing rentals, and other issues foreigners frequently encounter.

So far, the 12345 hotline in Zhejiang has assisted more than 200 non-Chinese citizens and received positive feedback praising its service.

"Next, we will further improve our response to people's needs, steadily expand the scope of 12345 services and offer support in more languages, providing more personalized and tailored services," said Wang Yi, chief of the government service hotline section at the Big Data Center of Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Public Complaints and Proposals.

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