GMT+8 Time Zone Countries list - UTC+8 Time Now

The offset that holds the most people

No other offset comes close in population, and the reason is China: the entire country, roughly the width of the continental United States, runs on a single clock. Beijing Time governs Shanghai and Kashgar alike, which means sunrise in the far west can fall well after 09:00 by the official clock in midwinter.

China — China Standard Time. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Xi'an. Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan — Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung. Philippines — Manila, Quezon City, Cebu, Davao.

Malaysia — Kuala Lumpur, George Town, Johor Bahru, Kuching. Singapore. Brunei — Bandar Seri Begawan. Mongolia — Ulaanbaatar and most of the country. Indonesia — Central Indonesian Time (WITA): Bali, Makassar, Balikpapan.

Australia — Australian Western Standard Time: Perth, Broome, Kalgoorlie. Russia — Irkutsk Time: Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Bratsk.

Daylight saving

UTC+8 is a fixed offset today, everywhere on it. That was not always so. Western Australia has tried daylight saving several times, most recently in a trial that ran from 2006 to 2009 and ended with a referendum rejecting it. The Philippines used it briefly in 1990. China ran summer time from 1986 to 1991 and has not since.

For Perth this has a particular consequence. It is two hours behind Sydney for part of the year and three hours behind when the eastern states move to daylight saving — a domestic gap that catches out Australians as often as visitors.

One country, one clock, five thousand kilometres. Beijing Time is less a measurement than a decision.

Working across UTC+8

The overlap with Europe is the late afternoon in Asia: 16:00 in Singapore is 09:00 in London during winter, 10:00 during British Summer Time. With North America, expect a date change. A Monday morning in Manila is Sunday evening on the US West Coast.

Perth shares the offset with Singapore and Shanghai but sits far to the south — same clock, opposite season. Indonesia's WITA covers Bali; Jakarta is an hour behind on UTC+7. Do not treat "Indonesia" as one time.

Neighbouring offsets

To the west, UTC+7 runs through Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta, one hour behind. To the east, UTC+9 covers Japan and Korea, one hour ahead — which is why a Tokyo–Shanghai call needs one hour of adjustment and a Tokyo–Singapore call needs the same. Between Perth and eastern Australia sits UTC+9:30, used by South Australia and the Northern Territory.