What is the time difference between Shanghai and Madrid?

Madrid is 6 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 Madrid from Shanghai?

Between 15:00–18:00 in Shanghai, which is 09:00–12:00 in Madrid. 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 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.

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

It is 06:00 in Madrid, 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 Shanghai and Madrid use?

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

Convert Shanghai time to Madrid time

Madrid is 6 hours behind Shanghai right now, so midday in Shanghai lands in the morning in Madrid.

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

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

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

Daylight saving time

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

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

Madrid

Observes daylight saving time

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

When you can actually talk

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

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

Reference

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

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

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Shanghai and Madrid?: Madrid is 6 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 Madrid from Shanghai?: Between 15:00–18:00 in Shanghai, which is 09:00–12:00 in Madrid. 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 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.
If it is midday in Shanghai, what time is it in Madrid?: It is 06:00 in Madrid, 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 Shanghai and Madrid use?: Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8, and Madrid uses Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2 (CEST). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.