EV charging in China
A guide to the charging network in China. Major operators, common connector types, pricing context, and where to plug in on the road.
Pan or zoom and the stations refresh automatically. Count bubbles group dense areas; single markers are coloured by power: teal ultra-rapid, lime fast, grey slower or unknown.
Browse by country →Framed on the busiest sites — pan or zoom to load every charger in view.
15
Stations
3
Fast (≥50 kW)
0
Ultra (≥150 kW)
2
Operators
Where the chargers cluster in China
Highest-power stations in China
Sorted by max kW. Drop in for a single fast charging session or use these as anchor points on a route.
Browse every indexed city
Sorted by station count.
≥ 50 kWFast chargers
3 stations at 50 kW DC or higher.
≥ 150 kWUltra-rapid
0 sites with at least one 150 kW socket.
MapInteractive map
Filter live, drag the bounding box.
Top networks in China
Sorted by station count in China.
Connector mix in China
- Type 15
- Tesla Roadster4
- Type #02
- Avcon2
- Tesla (EU)1
Counts derived from imported station inventory in China.
EV charging in China
China runs the largest EV charging network in the world by an enormous margin, with millions of public chargers, yet international open data shows almost none of it. We index only a handful of sites, because Chinese operators do not feed global databases. The real picture is a vast, dense network built around the national GB/T connector standard.
The tiny indexed count here is purely a data artefact, not a reflection of reality. China leads the world in both EV sales and charging infrastructure, with huge networks from State Grid, Star Charge, TELD and others covering cities, highways and rural areas. Battery-swap stations from companies like NIO add a charging model barely seen elsewhere. None of this maps into the international databases that power most global charging maps.
A different standard and ecosystem
China uses its own GB/T connector standards for AC and DC rather than CCS or CHAdeMO, so imported cars and adapters work differently here than anywhere else. Domestic apps, not international ones, are how drivers find and pay for charging, typically through super-apps and operator apps tied to local payment systems. For a foreign visitor, this makes the Chinese charging world fairly self-contained.
The practical reality
For anyone driving in China, the network is not the constraint, the tooling is. You need local apps and payment methods to access it, and the GB/T standard means connector compatibility depends on the car being a domestic or China-spec model. The takeaway is simple: ignore what international maps show for China, because the real network is among the best in the world, just invisible to the databases used outside the country.
- Why does China show almost no chargers on global maps?
- Because Chinese charging operators do not feed international databases, so global maps capture essentially none of the network. It is a data artefact, not reality. China actually runs the largest charging network on Earth, with millions of public chargers from State Grid, Star Charge, TELD and others. To find charging in China you use domestic apps, not international maps, which show almost nothing.
- What charging standard does China use?
- China uses its own GB/T connector standards for both AC and DC charging, rather than the CCS or CHAdeMO standards common elsewhere. That means imported cars and adapters work differently here, and connector compatibility depends on having a domestic or China-spec vehicle. The GB/T ecosystem is unique to China and is being developed further, including next-generation high-power versions.
- Is battery swapping a real thing in China?
- Yes, more than anywhere else. Companies like NIO operate large networks of battery-swap stations where a depleted pack is exchanged for a charged one in minutes, an alternative to plug-in charging barely seen in other markets. It coexists with the vast conventional charging network. This gives Chinese EV drivers options that simply do not exist in most other countries.
- Can a foreign visitor charge an EV in China?
- The network is not the obstacle, the tooling is. You need local apps and payment methods, typically tied to Chinese super-apps and payment systems, to find and pay for charging. The GB/T standard also means connector compatibility depends on the car being a domestic or China-spec model. For a visitor, the Chinese charging world is fairly self-contained and requires local setup.