Hong Kong first adopted a standard time when it was a British colony, initially using Local Mean Time based on the Hong Kong Observatory at UTC+07:43:20 (from 1904). On November 30, 1904, it officially adopted Hong Kong Standard Time.

During both World Wars, Hong Kong experimented with daylight saving measures. The Japanese occupation during WWII imposed Tokyo time (UTC+09:00) from 1941 to 1945. After the war, the pre-war timezone was restored.

Hong Kong permanently unified on Hong Kong Time (UTC+08:00) in 1946 and has stuck with it ever since. While DST was briefly used in various years post-war, it was permanently abandoned in 1979 due to Hong Kong's subtropical latitude, where daylight hours variation is minimal and the practice offered little benefit.

Upon reunification with China in 1997, Hong Kong maintained HKT at UTC+08:00 rather than adopting Beijing's name for China Standard Time, preserving its distinct identity despite being a Special Administrative Region.

Did you know?

Things about Hong Kong's time.

Fact · 01

Hong Kong sits at 114°E longitude but uses UTC+08:00 — technically the zone for 120°E. This means solar noon averages around 12:00, a close and practical fit.

Fact · 02

Unlike China proper (which uses Beijing Time across all five of its time zones), Hong Kong isn't subject to the country's single-timezone policy since it's a Special Administrative Region. It retains its own official timezone name (Hong Kong Time/HKT) rather than using 'China Standard Time,' maintaining distinction in international scheduling and financial markets.

Fact · 03

The constant UTC+8 offset year-round makes Hong Kong a predictable and easy hub for regional coordination across East Asian time zones — just one hour behind Korea and Japan, one hour ahead of Thailand and Vietnam.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Hong Kong's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].

What timezone is Hong Kong?: Hong Kong uses Hong Kong Time (HKT), which is UTC+08:00 and does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Hong Kong observe daylight saving time?: No. Hong Kong last observed DST in 1979. Due to its subtropical latitude, daylight hours vary little, so DST was permanently discontinued.
Is Hong Kong in China's timezone?: Practically, yes — both are UTC+8. But as a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong officially uses its own time name (Hong Kong Time) rather than Beijing/China Standard Time.
What's the time difference between Hong Kong and Beijing?: There is no difference. Both Hong Kong and Beijing are at UTC+08:00, and neither observes DST, so the time is always identical.
What's the time difference between Hong Kong and Tokyo?: Hong Kong is 1 hour behind Tokyo (UTC+8 vs. UTC+9), with no DST in either city.
What's the time difference between Hong Kong and London?: Hong Kong is typically 8 hours ahead of London. During UK summer time (late March to late October), this shrinks to 7 hours.
What's the time difference between Hong Kong and New York?: Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of New York (EST), or 12 hours ahead during US daylight saving time (roughly March to November).
When is the best time to call Hong Kong from abroad?: Hong Kong business hours are 9 AM–6 PM HKT. That's 1 AM–10 AM GMT (winter), so early morning Europe is ideal. From the US West Coast, late afternoon/evening catches morning HK time.

Free · Developer API

Time, as JSON.

Every IANA time zone with live offsets, DST status, and the countries and cities that use them — clean, dependable JSON. Sign up free and get an API key in seconds.

GET /v1/timezones Live

countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.

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// France's time zones, right now

GET /v1/timezones?country=fr

{

"data": [

{

"iana": "Europe/Paris",

"display_name": "Paris",

"current": {

"utc_offset": "+02:00",

"abbreviation": "CEST",

"is_dst": true

}

]

}