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Vol. MMXXVI Tempus fugit, hora manet. — — —

TheTime Mag

Time in Shanghai

The exact local hour in Shanghai, China — synchronised to your browser, refreshed every second, and adjusted automatically for daylight saving time.

12:37:00
Wednesday Wednesday, 29 April 2026 Zone Asia/Shanghai Offset UTC+8 DST not observed

Today's hours of daylight

Shanghai sits at 31.2304° N, 121.4737° E. From this position the sun follows the schedule below today. Times are computed using the standard NOAA solar position algorithm and reflect the apparent horizon, not civil convention.

Civil dawn04:47First light, sun 6° below horizon
Sunrise05:13 (5:13 AM)Top edge of the sun crosses horizon
Solar noon11:52Sun at its highest point
Sunset18:32 (6:32 PM)Top edge of the sun crosses horizon
Civil dusk18:57Last usable light
Day length13h 19mFrom sunrise to sunset

Time zone & daylight saving

Shanghai is in the Asia/Shanghai zone of the IANA Time Zone Database. The current UTC offset is UTC+8.

Shanghai does not observe daylight saving time. The offset stays at UTC+8 year-round, which makes scheduling international meetings simpler — there are no twice-yearly clock changes to track.

Shanghai compared to major world hubs

If you are coordinating across borders, this table shows the current time in major hub cities relative to Shanghai, with the great-circle distance from Shanghai for context.

CityTime nowDifferenceDistance
London 05:37 −7h 9,197 km · 5,715 mi
New York 00:37 −12h 11,858 km · 7,368 mi
Tokyo 13:37 +1h 1,754 km · 1,090 mi
Dubai 08:37 −4h 6,426 km · 3,993 mi
Sydney 14:37 +2h 7,881 km · 4,897 mi
Los Angeles 21:37 −15h 10,434 km · 6,483 mi

About Shanghai

CountryChina
Population28,517,000
Latitude / Longitude31.2304, 121.4737
IANA time zoneAsia/Shanghai
UTC offsetUTC+8
Country calling code+86
CurrencyCNY

Other cities in Asia/Shanghai

These cities share Shanghai's exact time zone — useful when you need a same-clock alternative.

Cities one hour from Shanghai

If you are scheduling a call or planning travel across a single time-zone hop, these are the major cities sitting just before or after Shanghai on the world clock.