Time in China
China has one time zone.[1] It is officially called China Standard Time (CST). It is 8 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+08:00).[1] There is no daylight saving time.
Use
The capital of China is Beijing.[1] It is at about 116° east.[1] The solar time zone for Beijing is UTC+7:45:32. The time zone UTC+08:00 matches the solar time zone for 120° east. The complete hour UTC+08:00 is a compromise to be compatible to other time zones on earth.
Because Beijing is the capital, and the UTC+08:00 time zone is about right for the capital’s location, people usually call China Standard Time, 北京时间; Běijīng Shíjiān; "northern capital time", in English Beijing Standard Time (BJT).
Xinjiang (East Turkestan) unofficially uses UTC+06:00. Many locations north and south of Xinjiang use this time zone. However, the main population, the Uyghur people, also use the time zone as a political statement, to express disagreement with the central government in Beijing.
The UTC+08:00 time zone is also used in Taiwan. However, because of political reasons it is usually called Taipei Time or Taiwan Time. Similarly, in Hong Kong the time zone is called Hong Kong Time.
Changes
Criticism
Some people say that (except for 112 – 128° E) the usage of UTC+08:00 was harmful. China should have five time zones. The country’s west, especially in Xinjiang, see sunrise as late as 10 a.m. CST, making children go to school in the dark, and sunsets in the summer as late as midnight.
Time In China Media
The National Time Service Center in Mount Li, Lintong, Xi'an, Shaanxi
This map shows the difference between legal time and local mean time in China. Northeast China is significantly behind and western parts of China are significantly ahead of local solar time as a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 is observed across the whole of China, even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones (73°26'E - 134°46'E).
Map of Xinjiang, together with rest of China
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "China - The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. November 29, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ↑ "China profile - Timeline". British Broadcasting Corporation. July 29, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Willyard, Cassandra (March 16, 2012). "One Time Zone for the World?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved December 5, 2022.