Time in Beijing
Beijing uses China Standard Time, eight hours ahead of UTC, the single zone for all of mainland China, with no daylight saving since 1991. The clock shows local time with seconds, sunrise, sunset and a conversion table.
- Time zone
- —
- Abbreviation
- —
- UTC offset
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- Daylight saving
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- Compared with your clock
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- IANA time zone:
- Asia/Shanghai
- Country:
- China
- Coordinates:
- 39.90° N, 116.41° E
- Clock changes in 2026:
- none, UTC+8 all year
Five geographic zones, one clock
China spans about 62 degrees of longitude, roughly five time zones' worth. The Republic of China defined five zones in 1912, from Kunlun time (UTC+5:30) in the far west to Changbai time (UTC+8:30) in the northeast. After 1949 the People's Republic adopted one time for the whole country, Beijing time, UTC+8. In practice many people in Xinjiang also keep an unofficial local time two hours behind, and shops and offices in Ürümqi often open at 10:00 Beijing time.
Beijing time is maintained not in Beijing but by the National Time Service Center in Lintong, near Xi'an, which sits closer to the country's geographic center. China used daylight saving from 1986 to 1991 and then dropped it.
Sunrise and sunset in the capital
Beijing lies at 39.9° north and 116.4° east, close to the 120° meridian that defines UTC+8, so solar noon is near 12:00 to 12:30 PM. In June the sun rises around 4:45 AM and sets about 7:45 PM, nearly 15 hours of daylight; in December sunrise is near 7:30 AM and sunset around 4:50 PM, about 9 hours 20 minutes. Out in Kashgar, on the same clock, winter sunrise comes after 9:30 AM.
Nearby cities and their time
| Nearby cities | Distance | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul South Korea | 950 km | +1 h |
| Shanghai China | 1,070 km | same time |
| Taipei Taiwan | 1,720 km | same time |
| Osaka Japan | 1,780 km | +1 h |
| Hong Kong Hong Kong | 1,970 km | same time |
| Tokyo Japan | 2,090 km | +1 h |
Beijing at 9, 12, 17 and 21 o'clock elsewhere
Each cell is the time in Beijing at that hour in the city on the left, using today's offsets.
| When it is … in | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 9:00 PM | 12:00 AM+1 | 5:00 AM+1 | 9:00 AM+1 |
| London | 4:00 PM | 7:00 PM | 12:00 AM+1 | 4:00 AM+1 |
| Paris | 3:00 PM | 6:00 PM | 11:00 PM | 3:00 AM+1 |
| Dubai | 1:00 PM | 4:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 1:00 AM+1 |
| Mumbai | 11:30 AM | 2:30 PM | 7:30 PM | 11:30 PM |
| Singapore | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 9:00 PM |
| Tokyo | 8:00 AM | 11:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| Sydney | 6:00 AM | 9:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 6:00 PM |
Calls with New York and London
Offices usually work from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM with a lunch break around noon. New York is 12 hours behind during American daylight time and 13 hours in winter, so 9:00 PM in Beijing is 9:00 or 8:00 AM in New York. London is seven hours behind during British Summer Time and eight in winter; a 4:00 PM call in Beijing lands at 9:00 or 8:00 AM in London. The China Standard Time to EST page lists every hour.
Sunrise and sunset in Beijing
Monday, October 19, 2026, local time
- Sunrise
- 6:28 AM
- Sunset
- 5:29 PM
- Day length
- 11 h 1 min
- Solar noon
- 11:59 AM
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Oct 19 | 6:28 AM | 5:29 PM | 11 h 1 min |
| Tue, Oct 20 | 6:29 AM | 5:28 PM | 10 h 59 min−2′ |
| Wed, Oct 21 | 6:30 AM | 5:26 PM | 10 h 56 min−3′ |
| Thu, Oct 22 | 6:31 AM | 5:25 PM | 10 h 54 min−2′ |
| Fri, Oct 23 | 6:32 AM | 5:24 PM | 10 h 51 min−3′ |
| Sat, Oct 24 | 6:33 AM | 5:22 PM | 10 h 49 min−2′ |
| Sun, Oct 25 | 6:34 AM | 5:21 PM | 10 h 46 min−3′ |
Approximate times (usually within two minutes), calculated from the city's coordinates with the NOAA solar equations. Hills, tall buildings and unusual air refraction can shift what you see.
When to call Beijing
Hours that fall inside 9:00–17:00 both in Beijing and in the other city, using today's offsets.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does all of China use Beijing time?
- The government adopted a single time after 1949 for national unity and administrative simplicity. The country's five prewar zones were abolished.
- What is Xinjiang time?
- An unofficial local time, UTC+6, two hours behind Beijing time, used informally by many residents of Xinjiang. Government offices and transport follow Beijing time.
- How many hours ahead of New York is Beijing?
- 12 hours from mid-March to early November and 13 hours in winter, because only New York changes its clocks.
- Is CST in Beijing the same as CST in Chicago?
- No. The abbreviation is shared, but China Standard Time is UTC+8 and US Central Standard Time is UTC−6, fourteen hours apart.