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BlogHow it works

China Standard Time to EST Converter

Enter a time in Beijing, Shanghai or Shenzhen with a date and get the time in New York. China keeps UTC+8 all year, so the converter only has to follow the US clock changes.

China Standard Time

CSTChina Standard Time

ESTEastern Time

––:––

China Standard Time
Also called CST · Beijing Time · UTC+8
The single official time of mainland China. Its three-letter short form, CST, is shared with US Central Standard Time, which is 14 hours behind it. On this page CST always means China, UTC+8.

Beijing hours in New York time

CST timeCST · ESTCST · EDT
12:00 AM11:00 AM−1 previous day12:00 PM−1 previous day
1:00 AM12:00 PM−1 previous day1:00 PM−1 previous day
2:00 AM1:00 PM−1 previous day2:00 PM−1 previous day
3:00 AM2:00 PM−1 previous day3:00 PM−1 previous day
4:00 AM3:00 PM−1 previous day4:00 PM−1 previous day
5:00 AM4:00 PM−1 previous day5:00 PM−1 previous day
6:00 AM5:00 PM−1 previous day6:00 PM−1 previous day
7:00 AM6:00 PM−1 previous day7:00 PM−1 previous day
8:00 AM7:00 PM−1 previous day8:00 PM−1 previous day
9:00 AM8:00 PM−1 previous day9:00 PM−1 previous day
10:00 AM9:00 PM−1 previous day10:00 PM−1 previous day
11:00 AM10:00 PM−1 previous day11:00 PM−1 previous day
12:00 PM11:00 PM−1 previous day12:00 AM
1:00 PM12:00 AM1:00 AM
2:00 PM1:00 AM2:00 AM
3:00 PM2:00 AM3:00 AM
4:00 PM3:00 AM4:00 AM
5:00 PM4:00 AM5:00 AM
6:00 PM5:00 AM6:00 AM
7:00 PM6:00 AM7:00 AM
8:00 PM7:00 AM8:00 AM
9:00 PM8:00 AM9:00 AM
10:00 PM9:00 AM10:00 AM
11:00 PM10:00 AM11:00 AM
China hours down the side, New York across for EST and EDT. −1 means the New York time is on the day before.

Why it is 12 or 13 hours

China has used one time zone for the whole country since 1949, and it last tried summer time from 1986 to 1991, according to the IANA time zone database. Since then Beijing Time has stayed at UTC+8 without a break.

New York changes twice a year: forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November, under the rules the US Department of Transportation oversees. In winter the gap is 13 hours; in summer, 12. Because both are close to half a day, morning in one city is evening in the other.

  1. Jan 1, 2026 – Mar 8, 2026CST UTC+8 · EST UTC−5Difference: −13 h
  2. Mar 8, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026CST UTC+8 · EDT UTC−4Difference: −12 h
  3. Nov 1, 2026 – Mar 14, 2027CST UTC+8 · EST UTC−5Difference: −13 h
  4. Mar 14, 2027 – Nov 7, 2027CST UTC+8 · EDT UTC−4Difference: −12 h
  5. Nov 7, 2027 – Jan 1, 2028CST UTC+8 · EST UTC−5Difference: −13 h

Offsets in 2026 – 2027, from the IANA time zone data in your browser's engine

Writing China times in invites

Do

  • Write Beijing time or UTC+8 next to a China time, not just CST.
  • Put both dates in the invite: Wed 8:00 PM EST / Thu 9:00 AM Beijing.

Avoid

  • Leaving out the date. With a 12- or 13-hour gap the two cities are on different days for much of the clock.
  • Planning around Spring Festival without checking: many offices and factories close for a week or more.

For live calls, the usable slots are the New York evening and the China morning. A 7:00 PM call in New York is 8:00 AM the next day in Beijing during EST and 7:00 AM during EDT. The other option, an early New York morning, lands in the China evening: 7:00 AM in New York is 8:00 PM in Shanghai in winter.

The live Shanghai clock shows China now, and HKT to EST gives the same result for Hong Kong.

China time to EST questions

How many hours ahead of New York is Beijing?

13 hours from early November to mid-March, when New York is on EST, and 12 hours from mid-March to early November, when it is on EDT.

What is 9:00 AM in Shanghai in New York?

8:00 PM the previous evening during EST, or 9:00 PM the previous evening during EDT.

Does China have more than one time zone?

Officially no. The whole country uses Beijing Time, UTC+8, even in the far west where the sun rises and sets much later by the clock.

Which CST does this page use?

China Standard Time, UTC+8. US Central Standard Time is a different zone at UTC−6 and has its own converter.

Is Hong Kong on the same time as Beijing?

Yes. Hong Kong Time is also UTC+8 with no daylight saving, so the gap to New York is the same.