Man in China leaves suitcase with 1 million yuan cash on train, police finds it

A man in China alighted at Xuzhou East railway station recently without realising that he had forgotten to bring along his suitcase, which contained cash amounting to 1 million yuan (S$177,945), with him.

As the cash was meant to pay the salaries of migrant workers, the man, surnamed Zhang, immediately sought help from the police after realising his mistake, reported Beijing Evening News.

Following Zhang's report, a police officer onboard the train Zhang was travelling on conducted a search in the train carriages and eventually located Zhang's suitcase.

After confirming that none of the cash was missing, the police officer, along with the train conductor, sent the suitcase to a police station responsible for returning it to Zhang.

As a gesture of appreciation, Zhang brought a silk banner for the police officer and the train staff on Jun. 6.

Not the only passenger leaving behind valuables

According to Beijing Evening News, Zhang was not the only passenger who forgot their valuables on trains.

Since the beginning of 2025, the police have helped locate valuables amounting to 3.57 million yuan (S$635,275) left behind by travellers.

Specifically, in May 2025, a police officer on board a train to Beijing was informed by a passenger, surnamed Li, that his handbag, which contained a small printer, had been taken away by mistake by another passenger.

Another handbag, which closely resembled Li's, was left behind at the scene.

When the police officer opened the bag to examine its contents, he noticed that it contained 440,000 yuan (S$78,297) and US$10,000 (S$12,798) of cash.

Eventually, the police were able to get hold of the passenger who took Li's handbag by mistake and helped them retrieve their respective belongings.

Top image via Beijing Evening News