China Standard Time to EST
Beijing and Shanghai are 13 hours ahead of New York in winter and 12 hours ahead while the US is on daylight time. 9:00 AM in Beijing is 8:00 PM the previous evening in New York in January and 9:00 PM in July.
Two zones called CST
China Standard Time is abbreviated CST, exactly like US Central Standard Time, and the two are 14 hours apart in winter. An email saying "call at 9:00 CST" can mean 9:00 AM in Chicago or 9:00 AM in Beijing. UltKit lists China's zone separately, and the safest habit is to write "Beijing time" or "UTC+8" when you mean China.
The whole country uses one clock even though China spans about five natural time zones. Since 1949 all of mainland China officially runs on Beijing time; in Xinjiang, in the far west, many people unofficially use local Ürümqi time two hours behind. China tried daylight saving from 1986 to 1991 and abandoned it, so today the 13- or 12-hour gap to New York changes only when the US changes.
CST to EST conversion table
Every hour of the day, using today's offsets (daylight saving is applied automatically).
| CST | EST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 12:00 PM−1 |
| 1:00 AM | 1:00 PM−1 |
| 2:00 AM | 2:00 PM−1 |
| 3:00 AM | 3:00 PM−1 |
| 4:00 AM | 4:00 PM−1 |
| 5:00 AM | 5:00 PM−1 |
| 6:00 AM | 6:00 PM−1 |
| 7:00 AM | 7:00 PM−1 |
| 8:00 AM | 8:00 PM−1 |
| 9:00 AM | 9:00 PM−1 |
| 10:00 AM | 10:00 PM−1 |
| 11:00 AM | 11:00 PM−1 |
| CST | EST |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM | 12:00 AM |
| 1:00 PM | 1:00 AM |
| 2:00 PM | 2:00 AM |
| 3:00 PM | 3:00 AM |
| 4:00 PM | 4:00 AM |
| 5:00 PM | 5:00 AM |
| 6:00 PM | 6:00 AM |
| 7:00 PM | 7:00 AM |
| 8:00 PM | 8:00 AM |
| 9:00 PM | 9:00 AM |
| 10:00 PM | 10:00 AM |
| 11:00 PM | 11:00 AM |
Working hours that overlap (9:00–17:00 on both sides)
No weekday working hours overlap; one side has to stretch before 9:00 or after 17:00.
Daylight saving time
- China Standard TimeCST
No daylight saving; all year UTC+8
China
- Eastern TimeEST / EDT
UTC−5 in winter, UTC−4 in summer
US East Coast
Shanghai trading and factory calendars
The Shanghai Stock Exchange trades from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and 1:00 to 3:00 PM, which is 8:30 PM to 2:00 AM in New York in winter and 9:30 PM to 3:00 AM in summer. For US importers, the bigger timing issue is the holiday calendar. Factories close for the Spring Festival in January or February, often for two weeks or more as workers travel home, and again for National Day Golden Week, October 1 to 7. The Canton Fair in Guangzhou runs in spring and autumn, when buyers fly in from around the world.
Order before the Lunar New Year rush and count working days carefully; days between dates helps with lead times. Calls work best at 8:00 to 10:00 PM in New York, the start of the Chinese business day.
Other conversions with these zones
Frequently asked questions
- Is China Standard Time the same CST as US Central Time?
- No. China Standard Time is UTC+8; US Central Standard Time is UTC−6. They share an abbreviation but are 14 hours apart in winter.
- Why does all of China use one time zone?
- Beijing time was adopted for the whole country in 1949 as a unifying national standard, even though China's width would naturally cover about five zones.
- Did China ever use daylight saving time?
- Yes, from 1986 to 1991. It was dropped after six years and has not returned.
- What time does the Shanghai market open in New York?
- The 9:30 AM Shanghai open is 8:30 PM the previous evening in New York in winter and 9:30 PM in summer.
- How long do Chinese factories close for the Spring Festival?
- The official holiday lasts about a week, but many factories stop for two to four weeks while workers travel home, so plan production around it.