Electricity in China: Plugs, Voltage and Charging Like a Local

The two plugs you will meet

China uses Type I (two flat angled pins — same as Australia) and increasingly Type A/C (two flat parallel or round pins) on dual-socket wall panels. Most modern hotel rooms fit European round pins, US flat pins and Australian angled pins without any adapter. Airports and trains offer USB-A under seats and Type C on newer rolling stock.

Voltage: check your charger, not your device

Mains is 220–230 V. Every phone, laptop, camera and e-reader charger made this decade is 100–240 V — they just work. Hair dryers and straighteners rated 110 V only (common in US purchases) will overheat: use the hotel's, always provided. Check the fine print on the plug brick: 「INPUT: 100-240V」 means safe.

What to actually pack

• One universal adapter with Type I pins (¥30 if you forget — 7-Eleven and airport shops stock them).
• A 20,000 mAh power bank in cabin baggage (mandatory sightseeing kit; rentals exist at scenic spots now).
• A 2-port GaN charger — hotel rooms rarely have spare sockets beside the bed.

Power-cut and train notes

Grid reliability is excellent; you will not experience outages in cities. On high-speed trains, second-class power sits under the middle seat edge; sleeper trains have 220 V sockets at each berth. Bring a small power strip if charging 3+ devices on overnight trains.