What is the time difference between Shanghai and Dubai?

Dubai is 4 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 Dubai from Shanghai?

Between 13:00–18:00 in Shanghai, which is 09:00–14:00 in Dubai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?

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

Does Dubai observe daylight saving time?

No. Dubai stays on UTC+4 all year, so its clocks never move.

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

It is 08:00 in Dubai, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it does not change through the year, because neither city moves its clocks.

Which time zones do Shanghai and Dubai use?

Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8, and Dubai uses Asia/Dubai, currently UTC+4 (GST). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Shanghai time to Dubai time

Right now Dubai runs 4 hours behind Shanghai. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

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

The whole day mapped across: read down the left for Shanghai, across for Dubai.

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

Daylight saving time

Both cities keep one offset all year. Whatever difference holds today still holds in six months.

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

Dubai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+4

When you can actually talk

You have 5 hours of shared working time: 13:00–18:00 in Shanghai, which is 09:00–14:00 in Dubai.

Shanghai 13:00–18:00Dubai 09:00–14:00

Reference

The underlying data, in case you need to put it in a calendar invitation or a configuration file.

	Shanghai	Dubai
IANA zone	Asia/Shanghai	Asia/Dubai
Abbreviation	UTC+8	GST
Standard offset	UTC+8	UTC+4
Daylight offset	—	—
Clock changes this year	0	0
Country	China	United Arab Emirates

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Shanghai and Dubai?: Dubai is 4 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 Dubai from Shanghai?: Between 13:00–18:00 in Shanghai, which is 09:00–14:00 in Dubai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Shanghai observe daylight saving time?: No. Shanghai stays on UTC+8 all year, so its clocks never move.
Does Dubai observe daylight saving time?: No. Dubai stays on UTC+4 all year, so its clocks never move.
If it is midday in Shanghai, what time is it in Dubai?: It is 08:00 in Dubai, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it does not change through the year, because neither city moves its clocks.
Which time zones do Shanghai and Dubai use?: Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8, and Dubai uses Asia/Dubai, currently UTC+4 (GST). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.