Time in China

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China, with its large territory, spans five time zones. For the past few decades, however, the geographical region of China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, has been in the same time zone which is eight hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+8).

Although all jurisdictions within the region are placed under the same time zone, due to historical and political reasons different jurisdictions keep their own time standard and have their own names.

Contents

[edit] History

Time zones were first set up and made official in China in 1912 under the Republic of China. The country was divided into five time zones, namely GMT+5.5, GMT+6, GMT+7, GMT+8 and GMT+8.5. Before that, time varied, while astrological predictions were conducted according to the time standard based on the locations of then capitals of the imperial dynasties.

After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Communist Party took over mainland China. The government of the then ruling Kuomintang (KMT) was relocated to Taipei (which controlled Taiwan and other islands).

The communist People's Republic of China established one single time zone (UTC+8) for the entirety of its claimed territories, while the Republic of China under the Kuomintang continued to place the territories it administered under the UTC+8 time zone. In other words, the two had different policies, but the outcome was that they were all placed under the same time zone.

From the mid-19th century until 1997 and 1999, Hong Kong and Macau had, respectively, been colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal. Despite being part of the People's Republic of China, as special administrative regions they have their own policies regarding time zones over the respective regions. Due to their geographical locations, both are within the GMT/UTC+8 time zone.

[edit] The Republic of China from 1912 to 1949

The time zones of the Republic of China (from 1912 to 1949)
The time zones of the Republic of China (from 1912 to 1949)

In 1912, the Central Observatory of the Republic of China in Peking (Beijing) divided the country into five time zones, namely Kunlun Time Zone (GMT+5.5), Sinkiang-Tibet Time Zone (GMT+6), Kansu-Szechuan Time Zone (GMT+7), Chungyuan Standard Time Zone (GMT+8), and Changpai Time Zone (GMT+8.5). These time zones were ratified in 1939 in the standard time conference of the Ministry of Interior of the Executive Yuan.

These time zones were no longer in effective use after 1949, when the PRC was established on mainland China, as the new government had its own policies regarding the time zones on mainland China. However, as the ROC still claimed that it had sovereignty over mainland China, the time zones that were assigned in 1912 are still in use in the view of the Government of the ROC, which had retreated to Taiwan. That is the reason why some government departments on Taiwan still refer to the time on Taiwan as "Chungyuan Standard Time" nowadays, although a lot of people want to officially change the name of the time zone to "Taiwan Time", Chungyuan being part of mainland China.

[edit] Kunlun

The Kunlun Time Zone (崑崙時區) was assigned to the area around the Kunlun mountain ranges in the far west of China, based on the time on the longitude 82°15′E. Administrative divisions within this time zone were:

[edit] Sinkiang-Tibet

The Sinkiang-Tibet Time Zone (新藏時區) was named after the administrative divisions of Sinkiang and Tibet, which had the majority of their land lying in this time zone. The time zone also covered the western halves of their neighbouring administrative divisions. The time in this time zone was based on that on the longitude 90°E. Administrative divisions within this time zone included:

  • eastern part of the Sinkiang Province (now Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the PRC)
  • eastern part of the Tibet Region (now part of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the PRC)
  • western part of Tsinghai Province (now transliterated as Qinghai Province by the PRC)
  • western part of Sikang Province (now part of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan Province of the PRC)
  • the western part of the Mongolia Region (now the independent state of Mongolia).

[edit] Kansu-Szechuan

The Kansu-Szechuan Time Zone (隴蜀時區) covered the mid-western part of China, based on the longitude 105°E. Administrative divisions within this time zone were:

[edit] Chungyuan

The Chungyuan Standard Time Zone (中原標準時區), or Central Standard Time Zone, covered the densely populated area of the ROC, including the then capital Nanking. The time in this time zone was based on the longitude 120°E. Administrative divisions in this time zone were:

[edit] Changpai

The Changpai Time Zone (長白時區) covered Northeast China. Named after the Changpai mountain range on the border between China and Korea, it was based on that on the longitude 127°30′E. Administrative divisions within this time zone included:

[edit] The People's Republic of China

Main article: China Standard Time

After the Chinese Civil War with the then ruling Kuomintang, the Communist Party gained control of the Chinese mainland and established the People's Republic of China in 1949. A unified time zone - GMT+8 - was established for all its claimed territories, called Beijing Time (sometimes known as Chinese Standard Time). It is not known exactly when the one time zone policy was established.

For a time the people's congress of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, thanks to its geographical location in the westernmost part of the country, had a Ürümqi Time, which was 2 hours behind Beijing Time. Although the Ürümqi Time is not official, most stores and government offices in Xinjiang have modified opening hours, commonly running from 10AM to 7PM Beijing Time. Times for buses, trains, and other public transportation are often given in Xinjiang time, regardless of the ethnicity of the speaker.


[edit] The Republic of China since 1949

Some Taiwan independence supporters have semi-seriously suggested advancing Taiwan's time zone by one hour (UTC+9) as a symbolic assertion of Taiwan's separation from China. Critics have pointed out that it would instead symbolize a reversion to Japanese colonialism, since Japan Standard Time is one hour ahead of Chinese Standard Time. However, Taiwan's time was one hour behind that of Japan's before 1937 (Taiwan was under Japanese administration from 1895 to 1945).

[edit] Hong Kong

Main article: Hong Kong Time

Hong Kong Time is UTC+8 all year round. Due to longitude, Hong Kong has the same time as that in the rest of China. Therefore, Hong Kong Time is actually in the same time zone as the Chinese Standard Time. 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 the Hong Kong Observatory using a 6-inch Lee Equatorial and a 3-inch Transit Circle.

[edit] Macau

Main article: Macau Standard Time

The Macau Standard Time is, like the rest of China, in the UTC+8 time zone all year round. Similar to Hong Kong, there was daylight saving time in the past. However, the low latitude in Macau makes it unnecessary to adopt a daylight saving time.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Government departments responsible for time services:

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