When it is 09:00 in Shanghai it is 01:00 in London in January and 02:00 in July. London is 8 hours behind Shanghai right now — but it is not constant: the difference is 8 hours behind in January and 7 hours behind in July. This page gives the live times in both cities, the overlap between their working days, the daylight saving dates that move the difference, and the best meeting windows.
Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between Shanghai and London, with the offset for the date you pick.
Live times in Shanghai and London
The two cities side by side. The January column uses the winter offsets (Shanghai UTC+08:00, London UTC+00:00); the July column uses the summer offsets (Shanghai UTC+08:00, London UTC+01:00).
| Time in Shanghai | London in January | London in July |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 |
| 06:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| 09:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 |
| 12:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 |
| 15:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 |
| 17:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 |
| 21:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 |
The world clock shows the current time in both cities live, and the individual city pages — time in Shanghai and time in London — explain each city's time zone, offsets and daylight saving in full.
The time difference between Shanghai and London
The difference is not constant. In January London is 8 hours behind Shanghai; in July it is 7 hours behind Shanghai. The difference changes on Sunday, 29 March 2026 (from 8 hours behind to 7 hours behind) and Sunday, 25 October 2026 (from 7 hours behind to 8 hours behind) — those are the dates when one of the two cities changes its clocks and the other does not, or when they change on different days. Between those dates the difference is one value; outside them it is the other.
To convert a time, add the difference: 09:00 in Shanghai is 01:00 in London in January and 02:00 in July; 17:00 in Shanghai — the end of the working day — is 09:00 in London in January and 10:00 in July. To go the other way, subtract it: 09:00 in London is 17:00 in Shanghai in January. The time difference calculator does the arithmetic for any date, and the UTC to London page gives the full conversion table for London.
Meeting overlap between Shanghai and London
The overlap is the hours when both cities are in their working day (09:00–17:00 local time). The table marks the overlapping hours in Shanghai's working day and shows what time they are in London.
January
| Shanghai time | London time | Both working? |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 01:00 | Yes |
| 10:00 | 02:00 | Yes |
| 11:00 | 03:00 | Yes |
| 12:00 | 04:00 | Yes |
| 13:00 | 05:00 | Yes |
| 14:00 | 06:00 | Yes |
| 15:00 | 07:00 | Yes |
| 16:00 | 08:00 | Yes |
July
| Shanghai time | London time | Both working? |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 02:00 | No |
| 10:00 | 03:00 | No |
| 11:00 | 04:00 | No |
| 12:00 | 05:00 | No |
| 13:00 | 06:00 | No |
| 14:00 | 07:00 | No |
| 15:00 | 08:00 | No |
| 16:00 | 09:00 | No |
In January the overlap is 8 hours: 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 Shanghai time. In July it is 0 hours: there is no hour when both cities are in their working day. The meeting planner finds the overlap for any two cities and any date, and the meeting time finder finds it for a whole team.
Daylight saving in Shanghai and London
Shanghai does not observe daylight saving, so its offset of UTC+08:00 never changes.
London observes daylight saving: in 2026 the clocks go forward on 29 March 2026 and back on 25 October 2026, moving the offset from UTC+00:00 to UTC+01:00.
The difference changes on Sunday, 29 March 2026 and Sunday, 25 October 2026 in 2026. On those dates, one city changes its clocks and the other does not — or they change on different days — so the difference moves by an hour. A standing meeting set in one city's local time will land an hour early or late on the other side until the second city catches up. The fix is to set the calendar event in UTC, or to check the overlap again after each change. The individual DST pages — Shanghai DST 2026 and London DST 2026 — give the exact dates for each city.
Best meeting windows
The best windows in January are 09:00–17:00 in Shanghai (01:00–09:00 in London). These are the hours inside both working days, so nobody is up early or late. It is a short window, so keep the meeting short and send an agenda in advance.
Calling and travel notes
When it is 09:00 in Shanghai it is 01:00 in London in January; when it is 12:00 in Shanghai it is 04:00 in London; when it is 17:00 in Shanghai it is 09:00 in London. The difference is under 12 hours, so the two cities are usually on the same date — but check the date for late-evening and early-morning times, when the date can differ by a day. Scheduling between Asia and Europe works best in the late morning in London and the afternoon or evening in Shanghai. The difference is 5–9 hours, so the overlap is a few hours in the middle of the day. The main trap is daylight saving: Europe changes its clocks twice a year, and most of Asia does not, so the difference — and the overlap — moves by an hour in March and October.
Worked conversions
Six conversions, for January (offsets Shanghai UTC+08:00, London UTC+00:00):
| Shanghai | London |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | 00:00 |
| 09:00 | 01:00 |
| 12:00 | 04:00 |
| 14:00 | 06:00 |
| 17:00 | 09:00 |
| 20:00 | 12:00 |
In July, add 1 hour to each London time. For the reverse direction, see London to Shanghai time.
Shanghai and London at a glance
| Fact | Shanghai | London |
|---|---|---|
| Country | China | United Kingdom |
| Region | Asia | Europe |
| IANA time zone | Asia/Shanghai |
Europe/London |
| Standard offset | UTC+08:00 | UTC+00:00 |
| Daylight saving offset | — does not observe | UTC+01:00 |
| Offset in January 2026 | UTC+08:00 | UTC+00:00 |
| Offset in July 2026 | UTC+08:00 | UTC+01:00 |
| Observes daylight saving | No | Yes |
The table is the whole pair in one place. The two numbers that matter most are the January and July offsets: if they are the same in both columns for a city, that city's offset never changes; if they differ, the city observes daylight saving and the difference between the cities moves with it. The individual city pages — time in Shanghai and time in London — explain each city's time zone, and the DST pages — Shanghai DST 2026 and London DST 2026 — give the exact change dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between Shanghai and London?
London is 8 hours behind Shanghai right now. In January the difference is 8 hours behind and in July it is 7 hours behind — it changes with daylight saving.
How do I schedule a recurring meeting between Shanghai and London?
Pick a time inside the overlap — 09:00–17:00 Shanghai time — and set the calendar event in UTC so it moves correctly when the clocks change. Re-check the overlap in March and October, when the difference moves, and rotate the time if the meeting falls outside someone's working day.
What time is it in London when it is 09:00 in Shanghai?
It is 01:00 in January and 02:00 in July. The time zone converter gives the answer for any date.
What is the best time for a meeting between Shanghai and London?
The best windows in January are 09:00–17:00 Shanghai time — inside both working days.
Does the time difference between Shanghai and London change during the year?
Yes. It changes on Sunday, 29 March 2026 and Sunday, 25 October 2026 in 2026, when one city changes its clocks and the other does not.
What time is it in Shanghai when it is 09:00 in London?
It is 17:00 in January and 16:00 in July. See London to Shanghai time for the full comparison from London's side.
What are the time zones of Shanghai and London?
Shanghai is in Asia/Shanghai (UTC+08:00 standard time) and London is in Europe/London (UTC+00:00 standard time).
What time is it in Shanghai when it is midnight in London?
It is 08:00 in Shanghai in January and 07:00 in July — the previous day, because London is ahead of Shanghai. Midnight conversions are the ones that most often land on the wrong date, so always check the date as well as the time.
Sources
- IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (
Intl.DateTimeFormatwithtimeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory. - TimeFlow's own time-zone data (
data/cities.ts,data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database. - TimeFlow's time zone converter and meeting planner — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
- Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.