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Why Does China Only Have One Time Zone

When ranked by total area, China is the third largest country in the world. It is also a relatively long country that spans over 60 degrees longitude. This means that the country of China actually spans across five standard time zones (+5 +6 +7 +8 and +9 UTC). However, the whole country of China has the same time zone (+8 UTC). This makes it the largest country with only one time zone. Continue reading if you want to know why China has only one time zone.

Why does China have only one time zone?
Before the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, China actually had 5 times zones. After the war the new government, the Communist Party of China, established a standard time for the whole country. This time is known as Beijing Time in China, but internationally it is also called Chinese Standard Time. Beijing Time is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) +8. This time is also used for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong, known as Hong Kong Tim, and Macau, known as Macau Standard Time. It is also used in the disputed island of Taiwan, where it is known as National Standard Time.

Did you know?
Before 1949 the time zones in China ranged from GMT + 5.5 to 8.5. From the west to the east these time zones were known as Kunlun Time Zone, Sinkiang-Tibet Time Zone, Kansu-Szechuan Time Zone, Chungyuan Standard Time Zone, and Changpai Time Zone.

Only having one time zone means that in some parts of the country the sun doesn’t rise until after 10:00am!

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