Legal time in China

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China extends between its western and eastern borders over a longitude difference of around 60 ° (75 ° east to 135 ° east) and lies within five of the internationally agreed 24 time zones of 15 ° longitude difference each, i.e. from UTC + 5 to UTC + 9.

Previously (1912 to 1949) five zone times were used , whereby the area of ​​validity of the earliest (easternmost) and latest (westernmost) only extended to roughly the middle of the time zones located there. There has only been one official time in China since 1949 , namely UTC + 8 . This is the zone time of the time zone in which the capital Beijing is located.

Names of the time zones

Although all public bodies in the region work at the same time, a distinction is made between different time standards with different names for historical and political reasons:

  • In mainland China, under the administration of the People's Republic of China , Standard Time is called Beijing Time or Chinese Standard Time. A DST was from 1986 to 1991.
  • The territory under the influence of the Republic of China, such as the islands of Taiwan , Penghu , Quemoy and Matsu, is in the Chungyuan Standard Time Zone (UTC + 8) , which is also known as National Standard Time or Taiwan Time .
  • In Hong Kong, the time zone is called Hong Kong Time (HKT).
  • In Macau, the term Macau Standard Time is common.

history

The time zones in China 1912–1949: UTC + 5: 30, UTC + 6, UTC + 7, UTC + 8, UTC + 8: 30 before 5 ° longitude (and latitude) grid

Zone times were first officially introduced in China in 1912 . The country was divided into five zones with the times GMT + 5: 30 , GMT + 6 , GMT + 7 , GMT + 8 and GMT + 8: 30 . Before that there was no set convention and timekeeping was dependent on astronomical observations in the capitals of the dynasties.

After the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party took power in mainland China. The previously ruling Kuomintang moved to Taipei and exercised control over Taiwan and other islands there. The People's Republic of China introduced a common zone time (UTC + 8) for the entire claimed territory. The Kuomintang in the Republic of China (Taiwan) also set UTC + 8 as the official time .

Official Taiwan Period

Some proponents of Taiwan's independence had suggested putting Taiwan's time forward by an hour to indicate Taiwan's independence from China. Opponents of this proposal argued that this instead points to Japanese colonialism, since Japanese time is also an hour ahead of Chinese time.

Official time in Hong Kong and Macau

From the mid-19th century through 1997 and 1999, Hong Kong and Macau were colonies of the United Kingdom and Portugal, respectively .

In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macau Special Administrative Region , both within the People's Republic of China , UTC + 8 applies all year round, as in China itself. However, in both areas there was a daylight saving time in the past .

Time jump on the border with Afghanistan

Because of the universal time for the whole of China, including the westernmost provinces, a traveler who crosses the border from PR China to Afghanistan has to set the clock back by 3.5 hours. This is the second largest time jump at a time zone boundary after the time jump at the date line. In practice, however, this fact has not played a significant role so far, as Afghanistan has only a 56 km long border with China with the Wakhan Corridor , which also leads over a mountain pass and can only be crossed with donkeys and other pack animals.

Web links

Authorities responsible for timing: