What is the time difference between Sydney and Shanghai?

Shanghai is 2 hours behind Sydney. 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 Sydney?

Between 11:00–18:00 in Sydney, which is 09:00–16:00 in Shanghai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Sydney observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Sydney runs on UTC+10 in winter and UTC+11 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-04, when clocks go forward 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 Sydney, what time is it in Shanghai?

It is 10:00 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 Sydney and Shanghai use?

Sydney uses Australia/Sydney, currently UTC+10 (AEST), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Sydney time to Shanghai time

Right now Shanghai runs 2 hours behind Sydney. 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 Sydney, and what the clock reads in Shanghai at that same moment.

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

Daylight saving time

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

Sydney

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+10
Daylight: UTC+11
Next change: 2026-10-04 +60m

Shanghai

Does not observe daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+8

When you can actually talk

The window is 7 hours wide — 11:00–18:00 in Sydney, 09:00–16:00 in Shanghai.

Sydney 11:00–18:00Shanghai 09:00–16:00

Reference

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

	Sydney	Shanghai
IANA zone	Australia/Sydney	Asia/Shanghai
Abbreviation	AEST	UTC+8
Standard offset	UTC+10	UTC+8
Daylight offset	UTC+11	—
Clock changes this year	2	0
Country	Australia	China

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

Common questions

What is the time difference between Sydney and Shanghai?: Shanghai is 2 hours behind Sydney. 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 Sydney?: Between 11:00–18:00 in Sydney, which is 09:00–16:00 in Shanghai. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Sydney observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Sydney runs on UTC+10 in winter and UTC+11 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-04, when clocks go forward 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 Sydney, what time is it in Shanghai?: It is 10:00 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 Sydney and Shanghai use?: Sydney uses Australia/Sydney, currently UTC+10 (AEST), and Shanghai uses Asia/Shanghai, currently UTC+8. Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.