Regardless of whether you are a newcomer to Shanghai or expatriate living and working in the city, whenever you encounter problems or need help, you can always dial 12345, a 24-hour government-run, public-service hotline.

Following the launch of its multilingual services at the beginning of 2020, the multilingual services of Shanghai's 12345 hotline operate 24 hours daily. Operators and volunteers of Shanghai International Studies University and Shanghai's foreign affairs office provide services in 10 languages – English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Persian, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

It serves as a lifeline for expats.