Beijing time at a glance
- China: one time zone for the whole country, China Standard Time, UTC+8. No daylight saving time.
- Japan: Japan Standard Time, UTC+9. No daylight saving time.
- South Korea: Korea Standard Time, UTC+9. No daylight saving time.
- Many online English companies with students in China publish their timetables in Beijing time, so it helps to know your gap to UTC+8.
Beijing time conversion table
The table shows how far you are from Beijing time and what a 7:00 pm Beijing lesson is in your local time. In the US and Canada, an evening class in Beijing falls on the same calendar date but in your early morning.
| Where you live | Compared with Beijing time | 7:00 pm Beijing is… (your standard/winter time) | 7:00 pm Beijing is… (your daylight/summer time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines (PHT, UTC+8, no DST) | Same time | 7:00 pm | 7:00 pm |
| Japan / South Korea (UTC+9, no DST) | 1 hour ahead | 8:00 pm | 8:00 pm |
| Perth, Australia (AWST, UTC+8, no DST) | Same time | 7:00 pm | 7:00 pm |
| Sydney / Melbourne (AEST UTC+10, AEDT UTC+11) | 2 h ahead (AEST) / 3 h ahead (AEDT) | 9:00 pm | 10:00 pm |
| New Zealand (NZST UTC+12, NZDT UTC+13) | 4 h ahead / 5 h ahead | 11:00 pm | midnight |
| South Africa (SAST, UTC+2, no DST) | 6 hours behind | 1:00 pm | 1:00 pm |
| UK / Ireland (GMT UTC+0, summer UTC+1) | 8 h behind (winter) / 7 h behind (summer) | 11:00 am | 12:00 pm (noon) |
| US / Canada Eastern (EST UTC−5, EDT UTC−4) | 13 h behind / 12 h behind | 6:00 am | 7:00 am |
| US / Canada Central (CST UTC−6, CDT UTC−5) | 14 h behind / 13 h behind | 5:00 am | 6:00 am |
| US / Canada Mountain (MST UTC−7, MDT UTC−6) | 15 h behind / 14 h behind | 4:00 am | 5:00 am |
| US / Canada Pacific (PST UTC−8, PDT UTC−7) | 16 h behind / 15 h behind | 3:00 am | 4:00 am |
For any other time, add or subtract the same gap. Example for US Eastern in winter (13 hours behind): 8:30 pm Beijing = 7:30 am Eastern, same day. For Japan or Korea, add one hour to the Beijing column.
When daylight saving changes your class times
China, Japan and Korea never change their clocks, so the shift always happens on your side:
- US and Canada: clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November.
- UK and Ireland: forward on the last Sunday in March, back on the last Sunday in October.
- South-east Australia (NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia): forward on the first Sunday in October, back on the first Sunday in April. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not use daylight saving.
- New Zealand: forward on the last Sunday in September, back on the first Sunday in April.
- South Africa and the Philippines: no daylight saving, so your gap to Beijing never changes.
Example: a teacher in New York teaching a 7:00 pm Beijing class starts at 7:00 am in summer (EDT) and 6:00 am in winter (EST). Check your schedule in the week your clocks change.
Tips to avoid missed classes
- Write lesson times in the student's time zone as well as yours, for example "7:00 pm Beijing / 6:00 am New York".
- Use a calendar that stores the time zone with each lesson, so it moves correctly when your clocks change.
- Remember the date: an evening class in Asia can be the morning of the same day or the previous evening, depending on where you are.
- If you teach for more than one company, keep all your classes in one calendar.
Let a booking calendar do the converting
TeacherCal is OTC's scheduling app for online teachers. It converts time zones automatically, so you and each student see lessons in your own local time, and students can book, reschedule or cancel from their own link. TeacherCal is included with OTC Pro (it is not sold separately). Run by Online Teachers Club, which publishes this list.
Looking for work with students in Asia? Compare companies in the Online Teachers Company List, read how to become an online teacher and how to choose an online ESL company. For ready-made lesson games and materials, see ESL Courseware.
Tools for online teachers
Once you have shortlisted a few companies, it helps to have one page that shows who you are as a teacher. You can create a free online teacher profile page on Teacher4.me and share it with students, parents, and schools alongside your company applications.