Live · calculated from the IANA time-zone database
Time difference between Los Angeles and Shanghai
Short answer
Shanghai is 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles. Right now it is 05:36 in Los Angeles (PDT, UTC−7) and 20:36 in Shanghai (GMT+8, UTC+8).
Right now
Los Angeles · United States
05:36
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Pacific Daylight Time · PDT · UTC−7
Shanghai · China
20:36
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
China Standard Time · GMT+8 · UTC+8
Times at the moment this page was generated. Reload for a fresh reading.
Does the difference between Los Angeles and Shanghai change during the year?
Yes. For 238 days of 2026 the difference is 15 hours, but it moves whenever Los Angeles or Shanghai enters or leaves daylight saving time. Here is the full 2026 calendar (dates in UTC):
| From | Until | Shanghai vs Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | March 8 | +16 h |
| March 8 | November 1 | +15 h |
| November 1 | December 31 | +16 h |
The highlighted row is the current period. Every date comes from each zone's official rules, not from a hand-typed table.
Best time to call Shanghai from Los Angeles (and vice versa)
With 15 hours between them there is no hour at which Los Angeles and Shanghai are both inside a 9:00–17:00 working day. Teams split across these two cities usually alternate the sacrifice: one week the meeting lands early (7:00–8:00) in Los Angeles and late (18:00–19:00) in the other city, the next week the other way round. The Timezone Matcher grid shades exactly those compromise hours.
Los Angeles to Shanghai conversion table
Each Los Angeles hour and its equivalent in Shanghai today. Rows shaded green are working hours (9:00–17:00) in both cities at once.
| Los Angeles time · Tue, Sep 15 | Shanghai time |
|---|---|
| 00:00 | 15:00 |
| 01:00 | 16:00 |
| 02:00 | 17:00 |
| 03:00 | 18:00 |
| 04:00 | 19:00 |
| 05:00 | 20:00 |
| 06:00 | 21:00 |
| 07:00 | 22:00 |
| 08:00 | 23:00 |
| 09:00 | 00:00next day |
| 10:00 | 01:00next day |
| 11:00 | 02:00next day |
| 12:00 | 03:00next day |
| 13:00 | 04:00next day |
| 14:00 | 05:00next day |
| 15:00 | 06:00next day |
| 16:00 | 07:00next day |
| 17:00 | 08:00next day |
| 18:00 | 09:00next day |
| 19:00 | 10:00next day |
| 20:00 | 11:00next day |
| 21:00 | 12:00next day |
| 22:00 | 13:00next day |
| 23:00 | 14:00next day |
Looking for it the other way round? This page covers both directions: Shanghai to Los Angeles is the same difference with the sign flipped.
The two time zones
Los Angeles — America/Los_Angeles
Los Angeles runs on Pacific Time (PT): UTC−8 in winter (PST) and UTC−7 in summer (PDT). It is the clock of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Seattle and the entire US West Coast.
Shanghai — Asia/Shanghai
Shanghai — and all of China, from Beijing to Kashgar — uses a single zone, China Standard Time (UTC+8), with no daylight saving.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours difference between Los Angeles and Shanghai?
Shanghai is 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles. For most of the year (238 days) the difference is 15 hours; it shifts during the weeks when one of the two cities enters or leaves daylight saving time.
When it is 12:00 noon in Los Angeles, what time is it in Shanghai?
03:00 in Shanghai the next day (at today's difference of 15 hours).
What is the best time for a meeting between Los Angeles and Shanghai?
There is no overlap between the 9:00–17:00 working days of Los Angeles and Shanghai. Teams usually alternate: an early-morning slot in Los Angeles lands in the late evening of the other city.
Do Los Angeles and Shanghai observe daylight saving time?
Los Angeles: yes. Shanghai: no. Because only one of them changes its clocks, the difference moves by one hour twice a year.
What time zone is Los Angeles in? And Shanghai?
Los Angeles: Pacific Daylight Time (America/Los_Angeles, UTC−7). Shanghai: China Standard Time (Asia/Shanghai, UTC+8).
Tools
Meeting grid — add both cities and click a slot
Time zone converter — any city, any time
Working hours overlap calculator
Daylight saving time 2027 — all dates
More time differences from Los Angeles
More time differences from Shanghai
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