Electrical outlets in China are actually, surprisingly, compatible with most plugs from the US. Anything with a ground won't fit, because that portion of the outlets is shaped differently, but most other things will.
If one of the prongs is bigger than the other, you have about a 50/50 chance of the plug fitting into an outlet here, and about a 50/50 chance of it fitting into an extension cord, but you can always find something to make it work (unless you're traveling around China, in which case you might want to bring an adapter just in case). All outlets are singles, so extension cords tend to be necessary.
One thing I didn't really think about too much until recently was the voltage of the outlets. Whenever you plug something in it gets REALLY hot, so I don't leave anything plugged in for very long (especially not anything from the States), but I've never really had it cause any problems. Until the gala the other week. I decided to try to curl my hair since I was dressing up and all. About a minute or two after plugging in my curling iron I noticed a funky smell, but couldn't place it. Maybe five minutes later when I went to curl my hair I figured it out, it was melting plastic.
Now, this was a cheap curling iron, which probably accounts for part of it (my other one survived). I've plugged in many other things from the States while living here and this is the first time anything funky has happened, but it definitely made me laugh.
I was talking about it with some friends here, and one of them said in their apartment there is a line clearly singed up the wall leading to the outlet where their tv is plugged in. Sliiiight fire hazard anyone?!
For anyone that's coming to visit me (or just curious), items I've safely and successfully charged to date include:
-MacBook Pro
-Kindle Fire
-iPhone 4S
-iPod Nano
-Fuji digital camera battery charger
-Clarisonic face scrubber
-Oral B electric toothbrush
-ConAir curling iron
-BaByliss hair dryer
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