What is the time difference between Madrid and Shanghai?

Shanghai is 6 hours ahead of Madrid. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Shanghai from Madrid?

Between 09:00–12:00 in Madrid, which is 15:00–18:00 in Shanghai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Madrid observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Madrid runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?

No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.

If it is midday in Madrid, what time is it in Shanghai?

It is 18:00 in Shanghai, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Madrid and Shanghai use?

Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Madrid time to Shanghai time

Shanghai is 6 hours ahead of Madrid right now, so midday in Madrid lands in the evening in Shanghai.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

—

The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Madrid, and what the clock reads in Shanghai at that same moment.

Madrid	Shanghai
00:00	06:00
01:00	07:00
02:00	08:00
03:00	09:00
04:00	10:00
05:00	11:00
06:00	12:00
07:00	13:00
08:00	14:00
09:00	15:00
10:00	16:00
11:00	17:00
12:00	18:00
13:00	19:00
14:00	20:00
15:00	21:00
16:00	22:00
17:00	23:00
18:00	00:00next day
19:00	01:00next day
20:00	02:00next day
21:00	03:00next day
22:00	04:00next day
23:00	05:00next day

Daylight saving time

Shanghai keeps one offset all year while Madrid moves twice. That is the whole reason this difference is seasonal.

Madrid

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+1
Daylight: UTC+2
Next change: 2026-10-25 −60m

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

When you can actually talk

The window is 3 hours wide — 09:00–12:00 in Madrid, 15:00–18:00 in Shanghai.

Madrid 09:00–12:00Shanghai 15:00–18:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Madrid	Shanghai
IANA zone	Europe/Madrid	Asia/Shanghai
Abbreviation	CEST	UTC+8
Standard offset	UTC+1	UTC+8
Daylight offset	UTC+2	—
Clock changes this year	2	0
Country	Spain	China

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Madrid and Shanghai?: Shanghai is 6 hours ahead of Madrid. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Shanghai from Madrid?: Between 09:00–12:00 in Madrid, which is 15:00–18:00 in Shanghai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Madrid observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Madrid runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?: No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.
If it is midday in Madrid, what time is it in Shanghai?: It is 18:00 in Shanghai, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Madrid and Shanghai use?: Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2 (CEST), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.