IST to China
India is 2 hours and 30 minutes behind China Standard Time.
Times may vary due to daylight saving time.Quick answer. China is 2 hours and 30 minutes ahead of IST, and that gap never changes. Neither IST nor China observes daylight saving time, so the same conversion is correct on every date of the year.
This conversion works fully but sits outside the current launch phase, so it is marked
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Time difference
India Standard Time (IST)
IST UTC+5:30 No DST
Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad.
India runs on a single time zone, UTC+5:30, and has not observed daylight saving time since 1945. The half-hour offset is why IST conversions rarely land on a round hour.
China Standard Time (CST, UTC+8:00)
CST UTC+8:00 No DST
Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu.
All of China runs on a single UTC+8:00 zone despite spanning five geographic ones, and it has had no daylight saving since 1991. Note that "CST" here means China Standard Time, not US Central Time.
IST to China conversion table
Every hour of the day for 2026. Neither side observes daylight saving, so this table is correct on every date of the year.
| IST | China | 24-hour |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 2:30 AM | 02:30 |
| 1 AM | 3:30 AM | 03:30 |
| 2 AM | 4:30 AM | 04:30 |
| 3 AM | 5:30 AM | 05:30 |
| 4 AM | 6:30 AM | 06:30 |
| 5 AM | 7:30 AM | 07:30 |
| 6 AM | 8:30 AM | 08:30 |
| 7 AM | 9:30 AM | 09:30 |
| 8 AM | 10:30 AM | 10:30 |
| 9 AM | 11:30 AM | 11:30 |
| 10 AM | 12:30 PM | 12:30 |
| 11 AM | 1:30 PM | 13:30 |
| 12 PM | 2:30 PM | 14:30 |
| 1 PM | 3:30 PM | 15:30 |
| 2 PM | 4:30 PM | 16:30 |
| 3 PM | 5:30 PM | 17:30 |
| 4 PM | 6:30 PM | 18:30 |
| 5 PM | 7:30 PM | 19:30 |
| 6 PM | 8:30 PM | 20:30 |
| 7 PM | 9:30 PM | 21:30 |
| 8 PM | 10:30 PM | 22:30 |
| 9 PM | 11:30 PM | 23:30 |
| 10 PM | 12:30 AM +1 day | 00:30 |
| 11 PM | 1:30 AM +1 day | 01:30 |
Highlighted rows are the 6 hours where a 9–6 working day in IST overlaps a 9–5 working day in China.
Popular conversion times
| IST | China |
|---|---|
| 9 AM IST | 11:30 AM |
| 10 AM IST | 12:30 PM |
| 11 AM IST | 1:30 PM |
| 12 PM IST | 2:30 PM |
| 3 PM IST | 5:30 PM |
| 5 PM IST | 7:30 PM |
| 6 PM IST | 8:30 PM |
| 8 PM IST | 10:30 PM |
Business hours and meeting times
Comparing a 9:00–18:00 working day in IST against 9:00–17:00 in China, across the whole week — a slot only counts if it lands on a working day at both ends.
Both sides work Monday to Friday, so the working weeks line up and you share 5 days.
Rows are days in IST. Columns are hours of the IST day.
Best recurring slot
1 PM IST = 3:30 PM China , every shared working day
Across the week that is 25 overlapping working hours . The widest day is Monday, with 5 hours.
| Day | Overlap (IST) | Local (China) | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9 AM – 2 PM | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM | 5 |
| Tuesday | 9 AM – 2 PM | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM | 5 |
| Wednesday | 9 AM – 2 PM | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM | 5 |
| Thursday | 9 AM – 2 PM | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM | 5 |
| Friday | 9 AM – 2 PM | 11:30 AM – 4:30 PM | 5 |
| Saturday | IST weekend | — | — |
| Sunday | IST weekend | — | — |
Public holidays
A shared working day is only usable if neither side is on holiday — and India and China build their calendars on different systems, so the days each loses rarely coincide.
Over the next 8 weeks you share 40 working days. 4are lost to a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 36.
| Date | Who is off | Holiday |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, September 25, 2026 | China | Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) |
| Thursday, October 1, 2026 | China | National Day (国庆节) |
| Friday, October 2, 2026 | India | Gandhi Jayanti |
| Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | India | Dussehra (Vijayadashami) |
Next holidays in India
- Friday, October 2, 2026Gandhi Jayantisame date every year
- Tuesday, October 20, 2026Dussehra (Vijayadashami)partialpublished date
- Sunday, November 8, 2026Diwalipublished date
- Monday, November 9, 2026Diwalipublished date
- Friday, December 25, 2026Christmas Daypartialsame date every year
India has three national holidays on which the whole country closes. Everything else is either a central-government gazetted holiday that individual employers choose to observe, or a state holiday. Festival dates follow lunisolar calendars and move every year, so they are listed explicitly rather than derived.
Next holidays in China
- Friday, September 25, 2026Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节)published date
- Thursday, October 1, 2026National Day (国庆节)published date
- Friday, January 1, 2027New Year's Day (元旦)published date
- Saturday, February 6, 2027Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) (春节)published date
- Saturday, May 1, 2027Labour Day (劳动节)published date
Public holidays as published by https://date.nager.at, covering 2026–2028. Regional and employer-specific days are not included.
Holiday dates for China and elsewhere come from a dataset last refreshed on 2026-09-12 (date.nager.at plus curated national calendars). Lunar dates — Eid, Chinese New Year, the Jewish holidays — are predicted and can move by a day once officially announced. Regional, state and employer-specific holidays are not included. Confirm anything you are booking a flight around.
About this conversion
India runs on a single time zone, UTC+5:30, and has not observed daylight saving time since 1945. The half-hour offset is why IST conversions rarely land on a round hour.
All of China runs on a single UTC+8:00 zone despite spanning five geographic ones, and it has had no daylight saving since 1991. Note that "CST" here means China Standard Time, not US Central Time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between IST and China?
China is 2 hours and 30 minutes ahead of IST, on every date of the year. Neither side observes daylight saving time.
What time is 9 AM IST in China?
9:00 AM IST is 11:30 AM in China, all year round.
What is the best time for a meeting between IST and China?
Working days overlap for about 5 hours on a typical Monday: 9 AM to 2 PM IST, which is 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM in China. For a recurring invite, 1 PM IST / 3:30 PM China is the slot that works on the most days.
Does India observe daylight saving time?
No. India has kept a single UTC+5:30 offset since 1945 and does not use daylight saving time, so IST reads the same on every date of the year. Any change in the gap to China comes entirely from the other side.
How many hours a week do IST and China actually overlap?
25 hours across the week, spread over 5 working days. 1 PM IST (3:30 PM China) is the slot that works on the most days, so it is the one to put in a recurring invite.
Do public holidays in IST and China line up?
Barely. Over the next eight weeks the two sides share 40 working days, and 4 of those are a public holiday on one side or the other, leaving 36. The next holiday in China is Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) on 2026-09-25. Indian, Gulf and Western holiday calendars are built on different systems, so the days each side loses rarely coincide.
Is IST ahead of China?
No, it is the other way around: China is ahead of IST by 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Cities on the same clock as China
These keep an identical offset, so every conversion on this page applies to them too.
- IST to Shanghai · same clock
- IST to Beijing · same clock
Related converters
- IST to EST · Eastern Time
- IST to CST · Central Time
- IST to PST · Pacific Time
- IST to UTC · Coordinated Universal Time
- IST to GMT · Greenwich Mean Time
- IST to CET · Central European Time
- IST to GST · Gulf Standard Time
- IST to MST · Mountain Time