Power plugs in China
China uses Types A and I sockets, running at 220 volts and 50 Hz.
- Socket types
- A · I
- Voltage
- 220 V
- Frequency
- 50 Hz
Will your charger work?
| Travelling from | Verdict |
|---|---|
| United States & Canada | Fitsyour Type A plug goes straight in |
| United Kingdom & Ireland | Adapter needed |
| Continental Europe | Adapter needed |
| Australia & New Zealand | Fitsyour Type I plug goes straight in |
This is about the shape of the pins only. "Fits" means the plug goes in and carries power — it does not always mean it earths, and it never means the voltage is right. Both of those are below.
The sockets you will find in China
Type A unearthed
NEMA 1-15
The unearthed plug of North America and Japan. North American ones usually have one blade wider than the other, so they only go in one way round; Japanese ones and most two-pin travel chargers are symmetrical and go in either way.
Type I earthed
AS/NZS 3112
Australia, New Zealand, China and Argentina, plus much of the Pacific. Dimensions and polarity vary between them — Argentina runs live and neutral opposite to China and Australia — but the plugs and sockets are compatible with each other.
Worth knowing
Sockets are typically hybrid: Type A flat pins on one side, Type I on the other. The Europlug is being phased out of the national standard, so newer buildings may not take one.
Voltage and your devices
China runs at 220 V. An appliance built only for 120 V will be damaged here, usually within seconds of switching it on. A plug adapter will not protect it: it changes the pins, not the voltage. You need a converter, or you need to leave it at home.
Almost every phone charger, laptop brick and camera charger made this century is dual voltage. Look for "100–240V" in small type on the body of the plug: if it is there, the voltage is not your problem and you only need the right shape. Anything that makes heat — a hairdryer, a travel kettle, curling tongs — usually is not, and is where people get caught.
The supply is 50 Hz. Frequency only matters to things with a motor or a mains-driven clock; electronics do not notice it.
Plug, voltage and frequency data from Wikipedia — Mains electricity by country. See all countries
The other questions travellers ask at midnight
Plug sockets are the easy one — it does not change while they are in the air. Flight times, gates and transfers do. Viaquo gives an agency's travellers a concierge that answers from the actual booking, so the questions that do change get answered without waking anybody up.
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