JSQ's Adoption Blog

Having participated in a few forums, I know the subject of power comes up frequently. I thought it might be a good idea to document what I used while in China for others who are unsure about it.

There are 3 kinds of products you'll see for travelers to foreign countries:

1. Adapter: An adapter is a simple device that makes whatever plug you have fit into whatever socket your target country has. You'll see individual adapters for one specific conversion, or you might find all-in-one units that will work in all countries. The thing to keep in mind, though, is that adapters do not change the power being supplied, and most power in the world is different from U.S. power.
2. Converter: A converter takes your target power and either steps it up or down, but the way it does this only works with appliances that have motors or heating elements. Electronics like computers will not work with it.
3. Transformer: A transformer performs a different kind of power conversion on the source power allowing any type of device to be used within its defined power range.

In our travels, all of our hotels (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong) had 110 Volt U.S. power, likely produced by a converter, in the bathrooms. This meant if we had brought hair dryers, curling irons, etc., they would have worked. Since we didn't bring any, it wasn't something I ever tested. Our main concern was electronics like computers and cameras.

With most electronics, you get a little power brick that has without a doubt annoyed you to no end each time you take the device somewhere. It's finally time to appreciate that little brick. If you read the fine print, you should see something that says:

AC 100-240V 50/60Hz

If your power brick has this specification, it should (at your own risk) be able to plug directly into China's power system. At that point, though, the issue of adapters comes in. What we found at all of our hotels was that all-in-one outlets were readily available. There was usually an all-in-one outlet combined in the same location as the local standard outlet. As long as your cord wasn't a U.S. grounded, you could probably plug it straight into the wall outlet. If it was grounded, you might need an adapter.

Of course, I wasn't brave enough to plug straight into the wall. I decided to find a dual-voltage surge protector to use instead of plugging my electronics directly into wall outlets. We also wanted a power strip since we'd have a few devices that might need to charge at the same time. I found these at Walkabout Travel Gear:

All-in-one Surge Protector

The all-in-one surge protector is small, works on most power systems including U.S., Europe, and Asia, and includes a multi-country input and output adapter that accepts grounded U.S. plugs.

Universal Surge Protector Strip

This is a dual-voltage power strip with surge protection. It uses a grounded U.S. plug for input (NEED ADAPTER) and accepts just about any kind of plug on the power strip.

In Beijing and Hong Kong, I only used the All-in-One Surge Protector because we didn't need to plug in a bunch of devices simultaneously. In Guangzhou, I plugged the power strip into the All-in-One (using it as an adapter) and then into the wall. The only issue I had with this setup anywhere was that the plugs didn't always stay in the wall outlet very well. Other than that, though, it worked extremely well.

Now, if you don't want to mess with it at all, I've read several places that hotels will gladly provide you with a transformer (fee?) which will work with any device you bring as long as the wattage is within the transformer's operating range.