Exact time with seconds in China and timezones

China Standard Time (CST) is the standard time zone in all of mainland China. It is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, represented by the letter "C" in the acronym UTC+08:00. During Daylight Saving Time, CST is typically 7 hours ahead of GMT, or represented by UTC+07:00

The People's Republic of China uses a single time zone for the whole country, implied by the term Chinese Standard Time (abbreviated CST). For example, Beijing and Canton are both 8 hours ahead of GMT/UTC, since the Chinese government decided in 1949 to use one standard time for the entire country.

The boundary line of China's times zones touches the boundary line of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia's times zones at the western edge of the country. In westernmost Xinjiang, people use UTC+06:00, which is two hours behind Beijing, as in Gwadar, Pakistan.

The time zone in Xizang (Tibet) is usually referred to as Tibet Standard Time (abbreviated TST). TST is 7 hours ahead of GMT. The line between TST and CST runs along the middle line of Lake Koko Nur.

Some provinces, especially in the coastal regions, use daylight saving time (serving as UTC+09:00). This includes the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, and Shandong, as well as the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Other provinces follow standard time, typically representing UTC+08:00.

In July 2019, China began to enact the implementation of their first nationwide Daylight Saving Time. This means that in the near future, all of mainland China will follow the same time zone.