Originally Posted by
relangford
To theddo: in my two apartments in Shanghai over the years, I had as many as four different size plugs (UK three-pin type, two-pin US type (but with both pins same size, i.e., not polarized), European type, and a three-pin with slanted pins). And, three of these were in one apartment! I was told that China just hadn't decided on a standard, but was trending toward the European type. It was a pain buying electrical items for that apartment.
Two pin unpolarised that looks similar to US is Japanese standard. And European type? There are MANY types in Europe - all fit a low current "Europlug" but for higher current or grounded applications, require their specific plug. (Note - while all standard European sockets FIT the Europlug on some level, they do not safely/legally/to code fit in BS 1363 sockets, though with a screwdriver to push the shutters open they CAN fit and function but it's unsafe and I do NOT recommend it)