Ideally, the globe is divided into 24 time zones, each of which spans 15 degrees longitude and differs by 1 hour from its neighbors.
The time in each time zones is conventionally defined by its offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), where UTC is based on the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude), UTC+1 refers to 15 degrees east, UTC+2 to 30 degrees east, and so on.
In these ideal time zones, the Sun is at its highest in the sky at around noon.
5 Time Zones in 1
Measuring around 4800 kilometers (3000 miles) from its western border shared with Pakistan to the East China Sea in the east, China covers more than 60 degrees of longitude, incorporating 5 ideal time zones with UTC offsets ranging from UTC+5 to UTC+9.
However, all of China observes the same time zone, which is UTC+8. It is internationally called China Standard Time (CST). In China, the time zone is known as Beijing Time.
Macau and Hong Kong are special administrative regions of China, and have the same UTC offset as the rest of the country.
History of Time Zones in China
From 1912 until 1949, China did have 5 time zones: Kunlun (UTC+05:30), Sinkiang-Tibet (UTC+06:00), Kansu-Szechwan (UTC+07:00), Chungyuan (UTC+08:00), and Changpai (UTC+08:30).
In 1949, Communist Party Chairman, Mao Zedong, decided that all of China was to use Beijing Time.
Solar Noon
The time of day when the Sun is at its highest in the sky is called solar noon. If everyone only followed solar time, the Sun would always be at its highest in the middle of the day, at noon.
The reason why solar time was globally abandoned in favor of time zones is that each longitude has its own solar time. This arrangement, a reality until the 19th century, proved increasingly impractical given the technological advances in transport and communication.
Most countries observe a standard time that is as close as possible to their ideal time zone to ensure that solar noon occurs around 12 o'clock.
Noon at 3pm
Given the huge geographical dimensions of China's single time zone, solar noon occurs much later than 12 o'clock in the country's westernmost areas. In Kashgar, in western Xinjiang, solar noon can be as late as at 15:10 (3:10pm). In eastern areas, solar noon is before 12 o'clock. For example, in Fushun, the year's earliest time of solar noon is 11:27 (11:27am). In comparison, in Beijing solar noon is very close to 12 o'clock: between 11:58 (11:58am) and 12:28 (12:28pm).
Unofficial Xinjiang Time
In Xinjiang, Chinas westernmost region, the Uyghur population operate on a different local time known as Xinjiang Time or Ürümqi Time. The unofficial time zone is much closer to solar time and only 6 hours ahead of UTC, meaning that the local time is 2 hours behind Bejing Time.
While the Uyghur population usually go by Xinjiang Time, known colloquially as “local time”, other ethnicities, like the Han Chinese, normally refer to Bejing Time. This means that visitors asking for the current time in the streets of the region's capital Ürümqi might get 2 conflicting answers, depending on whom they ask.
Beijing Standard Time is calculated and released from the National Time Service Centre in Shaanxi Province, which is geographically almost the centre of China. It sits eight hours ahead of GMT and was implemented throughout China in 1949 after Mao Zedong decreed that it would aid 'national unity'.
Although there are practical and economic advantages to a single time zone, the impetus for standardisation was more about a signal the Chinese Communist Party wanted to send when it came to power in 1949.
Because of a legacy of Mao Zedong and the Communist Party's desire for unified control. Though China is almost as wide as the continental United States, the whole country is officially in just one time zone — Beijing time.
For convenience and commerce compatibility China has legislated that all its territory use just one time zone. That way corporate and businesses across the entire country all start work at the same time and close at the same time.
The reason is the population distribution of China. Beijing time is very accurate for most of the country. There were 5 time zones in China before 1949.
Some countries, such as China and India, use a single time zone even though the extent of their territory far exceeds the ideal 15° of longitude for one hour; other countries, such as Spain and Argentina, use standard hour-based offsets, but not necessarily those that would be determined by their geographical location.
The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time) based on the National Time Service Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences located in Mount Li, Lintong District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, even though the country spans almost five geographical time ...
If we look at a time zone map, we see that the time zone 12 hours ahead of EST is ICT, a.k.a. Indochina Time [Zone]. From north to south, the countries located in the ICT are Russia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
The country that is furthest behind in time is American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is located in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the U.S. territory of Samoa. American Samoa observes the time zone known as "UTC-11," which is 11 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Beijing Standard Time is calculated and released from the National Time Service Centre in Shaanxi Province, which is geographically almost the centre of China. It sits eight hours ahead of GMT and was implemented throughout China in 1949 after Mao Zedong decreed that it would aid 'national unity'.
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).
Considering the total surface area of both countries including land and water, the United States takes up 9.8 million square kilometers while China has 9.6 million square kilometers, according to World Atlas.
China, with a total area of 9.38 million square kilometres (3.62 million square miles) according to the World Bank, is the largest country to observe just one time zone: Beijing (or China) Standard Time.
However, the whole country observes the same local time. In theory, China could have five time zones, but the country has only one official time zone. In spite of being almost the same size as the continental USA, China has only one official time zone.
Geographically, China covers five time zones (Zhongyuan, Longshu, Tibet, Kunlun and Changbai Time Zones). However, the standard times used in Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan Province are the same, for they are all in the same time zone (UTC+8), 8 hours ahead of the Universal Time Coordinated.
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