Historical time zones of China
The time zones of China refer to the time zone divisions used in China between 1918 and 1949. The first time zone plan was proposed by the Central Observatory (now Beijing Ancient Observatory) of the Beiyang government in Peking (Beijing) in 1918. The proposal divided the country into five time zones: Kunlun (UTC+05:30), Sinkiang-Tibet (UTC+06:00), Kansu-Szechwan (UTC+07:00), Changhua (UTC+08:00) and Chinghai (UTC+08:30). These time zones were ratified in 1939 by the Nationalist government in the Standard Time Conference, hosted by the Ministry of Interior of Executive Yuan. Because of the Second Sino-Japanese War, it was also stated that Kansu-Szechwan time shall be the sole national time during the war time. After the war in 1945, these five times zones were implemented national widely. 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 (
Overview of the time zones
[edit]Times zones of China from 1918 to 1949 (incl. claimed territories) | |||||
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Time offset | UTC+05:30 | UTC+06:00 | UTC+07:00 | UTC+08:00 | UTC+08:30 |
Name | Kunlun | Sinkiang-Tibet | Kansu-Szechwan | Chungyuan | Changpai |
Chinese | 隴蜀 |
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Pinyin | Kūnlún Shíqū | Xīn-Zàng Shíqū | Lǒng-Shǔ Shíqū | Zhōngyuán Shíqū | Chángbái Shíqū |
Name origin | Kunlun Mountains | Sinkiang (Xinjiang) and Tibet | Kansu (Gansu) and Szechwan (Sichuan) | Central Plain | Changpai (Changbai) Mountains |
Ref. longitude | 82°30′E | 90°E | 105°E | 120°E | 127°30′E |
Approx. present day tz database |
CN Asia/Kashgar | CN Asia/Urumqi MN Asia/Hovd |
CN Asia/Chongqing MN Asia/Ulaanbaatar |
CN Asia/Shanghai HK Asia/Hong_Kong MC Asia/Macau MN Asia/Choibalsan TW Asia/Taipei |
CN Asia/Harbin |
Time zones and administrative divisions
[edit]Time zone | Historical administrative divisions (as of 1945–49) | Present administrative divisions |
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Kunlun (UTC+05:30) |
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Sinkiang-Tibet (UTC+06:00) |
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Kansu-Szechwan 隴蜀 (UTC+07:00) |
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Chungyuan (UTC+08:00) |
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Changpai (UTC+08:30) |
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