Time in China

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The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00, where Beijing is located, even though the country spans five geographical time zones. It is the largest sovereign nation in the world that officially observes only one time zone.

Contents

The nationwide standardized time is named Beijing Time (BJT; 北京时间) domestically and China Standard Time (CST) internationally. [1] Daylight saving time has not been observed since 1991. [2]

China Standard Time (UTC+8) is consistent across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. It is also equivalent with Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, most of Mongolia, Malaysia, Irkutsk Time of Russia, Western Australia, and Central Indonesia.

History

The National Time Service Center in Mount Li, Lintong, Xi'an, Shaanxi PRC-NTSContopoflimountain.jpg
The National Time Service Center in Mount Li, Lintong, Xi'an, Shaanxi

In the 1870s, the Shanghai Xujiahui Observatory was constructed by a French Catholic missionary. In 1880s officials in Shanghai French Concession started to provide a time announcement service using the Shanghai Mean Solar Time provided by the aforementioned observatory for ships into and out of Shanghai. By the end of 19th century, the time standard provided by the observatory had been switched to GMT+08:00. [3] The practice has spread to other coastal ports, and in 1902 the "Coastal Time" was proposed to be the universal time zone for all the coastal ports in China. However, the time zone for the rest of China remained undetermined.

Until 1913, the official time standard for the whole of China was still the apparent solar time of Beijing, the capital of the country at the time. Starting in 1914, the Republic of China government began adopting the Beijing Local Mean Solar Time as the official time standard. By 1918, five standard time zones had been proposed by the Central Observatory of Beiyang government of Republic of China, including the Kunlun (UTC+05:30), Sinkiang-Tibet (UTC+06:00), Kansu-Szechwan (UTC+07:00), Chungyuan (UTC+08:00), and Changpai (UTC+08:30). [3]

The 1947 version time zone assignment that was discontinued in 1949 after the People's Republic of China was founded: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} UTC+05:30 Kunlun Time UTC+06:00 Sinkiang-Tibet Time UTC+07:00 Kansu-Szechuan Time UTC+08:00 Chungyuan Time UTC+08:30 Changpai Time UTC hue4map X Republic of China.svg
The 1947 version time zone assignment that was discontinued in 1949 after the People's Republic of China was founded:
   UTC+05:30 Kunlun Time
   UTC+06:00 Sinkiang-Tibet Time
   UTC+07:00 Kansu-Szechuan Time
   UTC+08:00 Chungyuan Time
   UTC+08:30 Changpai Time

After the defeat of Beiyang government in 1928, the mission of the Central Observatory was moved to Nanjing, and the reference time standard used for the construction of traditional Chinese Calendar was shifted from Beijing Mean Solar Time to UTC+08:00. [3]

In the 1930s, the proposed five time zones had not been fully observed, causing regions in inner China area to adopt their own time standards, resulting in chaos. On 9 March 1939, when the Ministry of the Interior organized a Standard Time Conference in Chongqing, it was decided to adopt the five time zone proposal with slight modification of their borders starting from 1 June, however it was also decided that the entire country would use the Kansu-Szechwan Time (UTC+07:00) during the Second Sino-Japanese War which began at the time. [3]

Following the end of World War II, the five time zone system was resumed, although there is little information about the historical usage of time in the Kunlun and Changpai zones.[ citation needed ] A further refined system with adjustment to zone assignment in the Northwest part of Gansu was announced in 1947 for adoption in 1948. However, as the Chinese Civil War came to its end in 1949–1950, regional governments under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), other than those in Xinjiang and Tibet, switched to use the same time as Beijing, which is UTC+08:00, and is later known as Beijing Time or China Standard Time. [3]

There are two independent sources that claim the CCP, and/or the People's Republic of China, were using apparent solar time for Beijing Time before the period between 27 September 1949 and 6 October 1949, and they adopted the time of UTC+08:00 within that period of time, but the claim is dubious. [4]

Time zone changes in Tibet are undocumented, but Beijing Time was in use until at least the mid-1950s. Between 1969 and 1986, the time zone was switched repeatedly between Xinjiang Time (UTC+06:00) and Beijing Time. [3]

Daylight saving time was observed from 1945 to 1948, and from 1986 to 1991. [3]

In 1997 and 1999, Hong Kong and Macau were transferred to China from the United Kingdom and Portugal respectively, being established as special administrative regions. Although the sovereignty of the SARs belongs to China, they retain their own policies regarding time zones for historical reasons. Due to their geographical locations, both are within the UTC+08:00 time zone, which is the same as the national standard, Beijing time.

Geography

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 (73deg26'E - 134deg46'E). China-TZdiff.png
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).

As an illustration of the wide range, the daylight hours (Beijing Time) for the seats of the westernmost (both including and not including Xinjiang due to local customs, see below) and easternmost counties, calculated for the year 2010, are shown here: [5]

DivisionDaylight time
LocationCountyProvince1 January1 July
Westernmost Akto [6] Xinjiang 10:16 – 19:4407:34 – 22:26
Westernmost (not including Xinjiang) Zanda [7] Tibet 09:40 – 19:4807:39 – 21:50
Easternmost Fuyuan [8] Heilongjiang 06:54 – 15:1803:05 – 19:08

The border with Afghanistan at the Wakhjir Pass has the most significant official change of clocks for any international land frontier: UTC+08:00 in China to UTC+04:30 in Afghanistan.

Regions with special time regulations

Xinjiang

Map of Xinjiang, together with rest of China Map of China Xinjiang.svg
Map of Xinjiang, together with rest of China

In Xinjiang, two time standards are used in parallel, namely Beijing Time and Xinjiang Time. [9] [3]

Xinjiang Time, also known as Ürümqi Time (Chinese :乌鲁木齐时间; pinyin :Wūlǔmùqí Shíjiān), is set due to its geographical location in the westernmost part of the country. [10] The time offset is UTC+06:00, which is two hours behind Beijing, and is shared with neighbouring Kyrgyzstan.

Some local Xinjiang authorities now use both time standards side by side. [11] [12] Television stations schedule programmes in different time standards according to their nature. [3]

The coexistence of two time zones within the same region causes some confusion among the local population, especially when inter-racial communication occurs. When a time is mentioned in conversation between Han and Uyghur, it is necessary to either explicitly make clear whether the time is in Xinjiang Time or Beijing Time, or convert the time according to the ethnicity of the other party. [13] [14] [15] The double time standard is particularly observable in Xinjiang Television, which schedules its Chinese channel according to Beijing time and its Uyghur and Kazakh channels according to Xinjiang time. [16]

Regardless, Beijing Time users in Xinjiang usually schedule their daily activities two hours later than those who live in eastern China. As such, stores and offices in Xinjiang are commonly open from 10am to 7pm Beijing Time, which equals 8am to 5pm in Ürümqi Time. [17] This is known as the work/rest time in Xinjiang. [18]

In most areas of Xinjiang, the opening time of local authorities is additionally modified by shifting the morning session 30–60 minutes earlier and the afternoon session 30 minutes later to extend the lunch break for 60–90 minutes, so as to avoid the intense heat during noon time in the area during summer. [12]

Hong Kong and Macau

Hong Kong and Macau maintain their own time authorities after transfer of sovereignty in 1997 and 1999 respectively. The Hong Kong Time (Chinese:香港時間; Jyutping:hoeng1 gong2 si4 gaan3) and Macau Standard Time [19] (Chinese:澳門標準時間; Jyutping:ou3 mun2 biu1 zeon2 si4 gaan3; Portuguese : Hora Oficial de Macau [20] ) are both UTC+08:00 all year round, thus in line with Beijing time, and daylight saving time has not been used since 1979 in Hong Kong and 1980 in Macau. [21] [22] In Hong Kong, Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as the basis in 1904, and UTC was adopted as a standard in 1972. Before that, local time was determined by astronomical observations at Hong Kong Observatory using a 6-inch Lee Equatorial telescope and a 3-inch Transit Circle[ clarify ]. [23]

Taiwan

Taiwan, which is not governed under the authority of the People's Republic of China (see political status of Taiwan), also uses UTC+08:00, which corresponds well to its longitude.

IANA time zone database

The territory of the People's Republic of China is covered in the IANA time zone database by the following zones. "Asia/Shanghai" is used instead of "Asia/Beijing" because Shanghai is the most populous city in the zone. [24]

Columns marked with * are from the file zone.tab of the database.

c.c.*coordinates*TZ*comments*Standard timeSummer timeNotes
CN +3114+12128 Asia/Shanghai Beijing Time UTC+08:00 —
CN +4348+08735 Asia/Urumqi Xinjiang Time UTC+06:00 —Unofficial
HK +2217+11409 Asia/Hong_Kong UTC+08:00 —
MO +221150+1133230 Asia/Macau UTC+08:00 —

Backward compatibility zone

The following zones, including Asia/Kashgar, Asia/Chongqing, and Asia/Harbin, are kept in the "backzone" file of the IANA time zone database for backward compatibility.

c.c.*coordinates*TZ*comments*Standard timeSummer timeNotes
CN Asia/Harbin UTC+08:00 —linked back to Asia/Shanghai
CN Asia/Chongqing UTC+08:00 —linked back to Asia/Shanghai
CN Asia/Kashgar UTC+06:00 —linked back to Asia/Ürümqi

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time zone</span> Area that observes a uniform standard time

A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone</span> UTC−10:00 during standard time; UTC−09:00 during daylight saving

The Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii–Aleutian Standard Time (HST) by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−10:00). The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 150th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central European Time</span> Standard time (UTC+01:00)

Central European Time (CET) is a standard time of Central, and parts of Western Europe, which is one hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time offset from UTC can be written as UTC+01:00. It is used in most parts of Europe and in a few North African countries. CET is also known as Middle European Time and by colloquial names such as Amsterdam Time, Berlin Time, Brussels Time, Budapest Time, Madrid Time, Paris Time, Rome Time, Prague time, Warsaw Time or Romance Standard Time (RST).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Time</span> Official time zone of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Time is the time in Hong Kong, observed at UTC+08:00 all year round. The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the Hong Kong Time. It is indicated as Asia/Hong_Kong in the IANA time zone database.

Singapore Time (SGT), also known as Singapore Standard Time (SST), is used in Singapore and is 8 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+08:00). Singapore does not observe daylight saving time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UTC+08:00</span> Identifier for a time offset from UTC of +8

UTC+08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +08:00.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Africa Standard Time</span> Time zone

South African Standard Time (SAST) is the time zone used by all of South Africa as well as Eswatini and Lesotho. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+02:00) and is the same as Central Africa Time. Daylight saving time is not observed in either time zone. Solar noon in this time zone occurs at 30° E in SAST, effectively making Pietermaritzburg at the correct solar noon point, with Johannesburg and Pretoria slightly west at 28° E and Durban slightly east at 31° E. Thus, most of South Africa's population experience true solar noon at approximately 12:00 daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Russia</span> Time spanning Europe and Asia

There are 11 time zones in Russia, which currently observe times ranging from UTC+02:00 to UTC+12:00. Daylight saving time (DST) has not been used in Russia since 26 October 2014. From 27 March 2011 to 26 October 2014, permanent DST was used.

Thailand follows UTC+07:00, which is 7 hours ahead of UTC. The local mean time in Bangkok was originally UTC+06:42:04. Thailand used this local mean time until 1920, when it changed to Indochina Time, UTC+07:00; ICT is used all year round as Thailand never observed daylight saving time. Thailand shares the same time zone with Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Christmas Island, and Western Indonesia.

The UTC offset is the difference in hours and minutes between Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and local solar time, at a particular place. This difference is expressed with respect to UTC and is generally shown in the format ±[hh]:[mm], ±[hh][mm], or ±[hh]. So if the time being described is two hours ahead of UTC, the UTC offset would be "+02:00", "+0200", or simply "+02".

Macau Standard Time is the time in Macau. The time is UTC+8 all year round, and daylight saving time has not been applied since 1980. The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau is the official timekeeper of the Macau Standard Time. It is indicated as Asia/Macau in the IANA time zone database.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Taiwan</span>

National Standard Time is the official time zone in Taiwan defined by an UTC offset of +08:00. This standard is also known as Taipei Time (臺北時間), Taiwan Time (臺灣時間) or Taiwan Standard Time (TST).

The time zones of China refer to the time zone divisions used in China between 1918 and 1949. The first time zone plan was proposed by the Central Observatory of the Beiyang government in Peking (Beijing) in 1918. The proposal divided the country into five time zones: Kunlun (UTC+05:30), Sinkiang-Tibet (UTC+06:00), Kansu-Szechwan (UTC+07:00), Changhua (UTC+08:00) and Chinghai (UTC+08:30). These time zones were ratified in 1939 by the Nationalist government in the Standard Time Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Interior of Executive Yuan. Because of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was also stated that Kansu-Szechwan time shall be the sole national time during the war time. After the war in 1945, these five times zones were implemented national widely. In 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, the Central People's Government abolished the five time zones and announced to use a single time zone UTC+08:00 named Beijing Time (北京时间). The term Changhua Standard Time (中原標準時間) was still used by the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan until the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daylight saving time in Asia</span> Observation of daylight saving time in Asia

As of 2022, daylight saving time is used in the following Asian countries:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Portugal</span>

Portugal has two time zones and observes daylight saving time. Continental Portugal and Madeira use UTC+00:00, while the Azores use UTC–01:00. Daylight saving time is observed nationwide from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, when continental Portugal and Madeira advance one hour to UTC+01:00, and the Azores advances one hour to UTC+00:00.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daylight saving time by country</span>

Daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, is the practice of advancing clocks during part of the year, typically by one hour around spring and summer, so that daylight ends at a later time of the day. As of 2024, DST is observed in most of Europe, most of North America and parts of Africa and Asia around the Northern Hemisphere summer, and in parts of South America and Oceania around the Southern Hemisphere summer. It was also formerly observed in other areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in the Danish Realm</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time in Turkey</span> Its Turkey time

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xinjiang Time</span> Time standard used in Xinjiang, China

Xinjiang Time, also known as Ürümqi Time, is a time standard used in Xinjiang, China. It is used alongside Beijing Time, which is widely observed by the rest of the country. The time offset is UTC+06:00, which is two hours behind Beijing Time and is the same offset used by Kyrgyzstan. This offset accounts for Xinjiang's geographical location in the westernmost part of China.

References

  1. ↑ "CST – China Standard Time (Time Zone Abbreviation)". timeanddate.com.
  2. ↑ "Daylight Saving Time in China". timeanddate.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Guo, Qing-sheng (2001). 中国标准时制考 [A Study on the Standard Time Changes for the Past 100 Years in China](PDF). China Historical Materials of Science and Technology (in Chinese (China)). 22 (3): 269–280. 1000-0798(2001)03-0269-12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Guo, Qingsheng (2003). "Beijing Time at the Beginning of PRC". China Historical Materials of Science and Technology'. 24 (1): 5–9.
  5. ↑ "NOAA Solar Calculator". NOAA. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  6. ↑ 39°08′52″N75°56′51″E / 39.1478°N 75.9474°E
  7. ↑ 31°28′48″N79°48′26″E / 31.479882°N 79.807096°E
  8. ↑ 48°21′53″N134°18′28″E / 48.3647°N 134.3079°E
  9. ↑ 冷知识："北京时间"的由来. Xinhua (in Simplified Chinese). 3 November 2015. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  10. ↑ 2 节气、数九、昼长、乌鲁木齐时间. xjxnw.gov.cn (in Chinese). 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  11. ↑ Ingram, Ruth (September 2013). "Bending Time in Xinjiang". EthnoTraveler Magazine.
  12. 1 2 作息时间. xjlt.gov.cn (in Chinese). 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014.
  13. ↑ 10点日出，半夜吃饭，在新疆用北京时间的烦恼. zh:纽约时报中文网[New York Times Chinese Website] (in Chinese). 17 June 2016.
  14. ↑ 【城市】乌鲁木齐：没有屋顶的博物馆. Southern Weekly (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 21 December 2016.
  15. ↑ Demick, Barbara (31 March 2009). "Clocks square off in China's far west". Los Angeles Times .
  16. ↑ 北京时间的概念 (in Chinese).
  17. ↑ "The Working-Calendar for The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government". The Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Archived from the original on 4 December 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2008. Urumqi Time (GMT+6) is 2 hours behind Beijing Time
  18. ↑ 政协委员建议：调整新疆单位作息时间 (in Chinese). 人民网. 17 January 2014.
  19. ↑ "Macau Standard Time". Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau . Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "O Serviço de<<Hora Exacta>> na Internet". Direcção dos Serviços Meteorológicos e Geofísicos[Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  21. ↑ timeanddate.com, Daylight Saving Time in Hong Kong
  22. ↑ timeanddate.com, Daylight Saving Time in Macau
  23. ↑ "1883-1933: Equatorial & Transit Circle". Hong Kong Obvervatory.
  24. ↑ "eggert/tz". 20 July 2022 – via GitHub.
Government departments responsible for time services
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