Time zone
CST — the standard abbreviation for Beijing.
Current local time
Current Time in Beijing
See the current time in Beijing on China Standard Time, a fixed UTC+8 offset kept all year with no daylight saving, the single zone shared across China.
14:13:14
Saturday, June 20, 2026
China Standard Time — UTC+8
Beijing time zone at a glance
The key facts for Beijing, China, and how its clock relates to UTC.
About time in Beijing
Beijing runs on China Standard Time, a steady UTC+8 offset that never shifts because the country has not used daylight saving since the early 1990s. Although China spans roughly five geographic time zones, the entire nation officially keeps this single offset, so a clock in Beijing matches one in Shanghai or Urumqi on paper. Here the abbreviation CST means China Standard Time, not the US Central zone that shares the same letters. The IANA database tracks this zone under the identifier Asia/Shanghai rather than a Beijing-specific name.
Beijing does not observe daylight saving time, so it keeps a fixed offset of UTC+8 (no DST) every day of the year. The live clock above reads Beijing's local time directly from the IANA time zone database in your browser, so it stays accurate through daylight-saving transitions without any manual adjustment. To plan a call or convert a specific moment, use the timezone converter or meeting planner linked below.
Frequently asked questions about Beijing time
Does Beijing use daylight saving time?
No. Beijing has not observed daylight saving time since 1991, so its UTC+8 offset stays the same throughout the entire year.
Why is Beijing time listed under Asia/Shanghai?
The IANA time zone database uses Asia/Shanghai as the canonical identifier for all of mainland China, so Beijing falls under that zone even though it is the capital.
Does CST in Beijing mean US Central Standard Time?
No. For Beijing, CST stands for China Standard Time at UTC+8, which is a completely different zone from the US Central Standard Time abbreviation.
Current time in other cities
Compare Beijing with other major world clocks.
Hong Kong Current local time in Hong Kong, Hong Kong (UTC+8 (no DST)). Shanghai Current local time in Shanghai, China (UTC+8 (no DST)). Tokyo Current local time in Tokyo, Japan (UTC+9 (no DST)). Seoul Current local time in Seoul, South Korea (UTC+9 (no DST)). Taipei Current local time in Taipei, Taiwan (UTC+8 (no DST)). New York Current local time in New York, United States (UTC-5 (UTC-4 in summer)).
Time tools for Beijing
Learn about time zones
Background guides that explain how Beijing's clock relates to the rest of the world.