What is the time difference between Shanghai and Chicago?

Chicago is 13 hours behind Shanghai. 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 Chicago from Shanghai?

There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.

Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?

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

Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

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

It is 23:00 in Chicago, still on the previous day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Shanghai and Chicago use?

Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8, and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Shanghai time to Chicago time

Right now Chicago runs 13 hours behind Shanghai. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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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 Shanghai, and what the clock reads in Chicago at that same moment.

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

Daylight saving time

Chicago changes its clocks; Shanghai does not. The difference between them therefore shifts by an hour twice a year.

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-6
Daylight: UTC-5
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

When you can actually talk

A standard working day in Shanghai and one in Chicago do not overlap at all. Any call between them is early for one side or late for the other.

Shanghai 09:00–18:00Chicago 20:00–05:00
Shanghai 22:00–07:00Chicago 09:00–18:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Shanghai	Chicago
IANA zone	Asia/Shanghai	America/Chicago
Abbreviation	UTC+8	CDT
Standard offset	UTC+8	UTC-6
Daylight offset	—	UTC-5
Clock changes this year	0	2
Country	China	United States

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Shanghai and Chicago?: Chicago is 13 hours behind Shanghai. 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 Chicago from Shanghai?: There is no time inside normal working hours in both cities, so someone has to take the call outside them. The nearest workable windows are listed above — pick one and alternate who gets the awkward slot.
Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?: No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.
Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Shanghai, what time is it in Chicago?: It is 23:00 in Chicago, still on the previous day. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Shanghai and Chicago use?: Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8, and Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.