Time

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s Practical A–Z

The Nationalist government introduced five time zones to China during its rather uneven rule from 1912. But as far as the Communists was concerned, time restarted on 1 October 1949 when the creation of the People’s Republic was announced by Máo from atop the Tiān’ān Mén, and the whole country had to march to Běijīng time. There’s still talk of Xīnjiāng time and Tibet time, but this is politically incorrect—or politically correct if your view is that these areas are under Chinese occupation. But the whole of China is on Běijīng time: GMT +8. There is no summer time/daylight savings time. So in winter noon in Běijīng is 4am in London, 3pm in Sydney, 5pm in Wellington, 7pm in Los Angeles and Vancouver, and 11pm in New York and Toronto. Add one hour in summer if need be.

Next: Tipping
Previous: Telephones
Index of Practical A–Z
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.

For moderated on-line discussion of China travel, join The Oriental-List.