Weather & Times

China Climate Zones
 Weather Introduction - Spread over such a vast area of territory, China has a complex topography; therefore China is subject to the worst extremes in weather, from the bitterly cold to the unbearably hot. China is characterized by a continental climate, and the climate differs from region to region.

In north China, such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, summer is dry and sweltering while the Inner Mongolia and Beijing area. On the Tibet-Qinghai plateau (about 4,000m above sea level), winter is long and extremely cold while summer is short and moderately warm. There is little precipitation in this area and the temperature fluctuation is great between day and night.

In central china (the valley along where the Yangtze River travel), summer is long, hot and humid while winter is short and cold.  In the areas south of the Yangtze River, temperature rarely falls below freezing. In the far south, areas around Guangzhou, the summer is long, humid and hot while the winter is short and comfortable, a paradise consider by many northerners. The rainy season runs from may through august and typhoons frequently occur in the southeast coast between July and September.

The abovementioned is a rough guide to avoid the extremes of temperature. And please read more about China Climate and Weather or see the newest City Weather Forecast

China Standard Time
What's the current time in China Time Zone?
Despite China being a vast country geographically spanning several time zones the whole of China operates to a single Standard Time all year round. China Standard Time or Beijing Time is the time zone observed in the People's Republic of China. It is eight hours ahead of UTC (UTC+8) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+8).

Current Time in China Time Zone = GMT+8

Certain regions of eastern Asia, including Greater China, also observe time zones which have the same offset, but use different names, such as Chungyuan Standard Time, Philippine Standard Time, Singapore Standard Time, etc.

Other time zones in the PRC
Although the only official time zone in the PRC is Beijing Time, the People's Congress of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, due to its geographical location in the westernmost part of the country, proclaimed Urumqi Time, two hours behind Beijing. Although this is not officially recognized, it is the time observed locally by most residents.

The PRC observed daylight saving time from 1986 through 1991, but does not operate it now.