From citizens’ calls to city action: Inside a Chinese hotline Number 12345

When Krisca, an international student in east China’s Shandong Province, stepped out of a taxi, she didn’t realize she had left her bag behind.

Moments later, upon realization, panic set in.

This is because her passport was inside, the very document she needed to prove her identity in a foreign country.

Without a receipt or any way to trace the driver, she was stranded, unsure where to turn.

In many parts of the world, that bag would be gone for good.

But in China, she was told to dial five digits: 1-2-3-4-5.

Within two hours, the “city’s brain” had coordinated with the local transport authority and local police, which used traffic cameras and GPS data to locate the vehicle and identify the taxi operator.

At the same time, the driver, Hou Cungang, had already reported the forgotten bag to his taxi company.