China spans several different time zones, but the government operates the whole of China to a single standard time. China does not participate in Daylight Saving Time so its time difference can change over the year if you’re in a place that does observe Daylight Saving Time. China is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. However, during Daylight Saving Time in the U.S., China is only 12 hours ahead of the eastern U.S.

The country calling code for mainland China is 86. When calling China long-distance, you also need to dial an area code. Each Chinese city has its own area code of 2-3 digits. Subscriber telephone numbers in China have 7 or 8 digits. When combined, the area code and subscriber number almost always equal 10 digits. e.g. A call to Beijing would require the area code of 10 and an 8-digit subscriber number: 10-xxxx-xxxx. A call to Xinxiang would require the area code of 373 and a 7-digit subscriber number: 373-xxx-xxxx.

The Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own country codes. The code for Hong Kong is 852, and the code for Macau is 853. Hong Kong and Macau do not have area codes, so simply dial the number you are trying to reach after dialing the country code. Nearly all subscriber numbers are 8 digits in both Hong Kong and Macau.

China’s a huge country, but that doesn’t mean calling there has to be complicated. See our Guide for calling China long distance and list of China city codes.