What is Hong Kong Time?
You need to keep in mind that this time zone is an identifier for a time offset that is 8 hours ahead of the
UTC time zone.
This time pattern is maintained using highly accurate atomic clocks matched to the Earth's rotation.
In this section, you will learn key facts about this time zone and stay well informed.
The IANA time zone identifier used is Etc/GMT-8.
Please be aware that
Daylight Saving Time (DST) is not used in this time zone.
Without DST clocks do not change in this time zone, keeping the same UTC offset throughout the year.
About This Time Pattern
HKT Time Zone Map
In Hong Kong, this time zone is defined in the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap 1), Laws of Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the current Hong Kong Time zone.
This time zone is a time offset that adds 8 hours to
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
In the map above we highlight the entire region covered by this time zone.
Its main cities and territories are:
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Victoria City
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Kowloon
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Central and Western District
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Wan Chai District
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Yau Tsim Mong District
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Sham Shui Po
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Kowloon City District
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Wong Tai Sin District
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Kwun Tong District
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Tsuen Wan New Town
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Sha Tin New Town
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Tuen Mun New Town
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Tai Po New Town
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Yuen Long New Town
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Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town
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Ma On Shan Town
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Tseung Kwan O New Town
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Tin Shui Wai New Town
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North Lantau New Town
In the map above we highlight the entire region covered by the time zone.
This time offset is also observed during standard time and daylight saving time for various geographic regions.
You need to be very careful finding these time zones that may have different names and abbreviations, but have the same UTC offset:
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Australian Western Standard Time (AWST)
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Brunei Time (BNT)
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Choibalsan Standard Time (CHOT)
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Clipperton Island Standard Time (CIST)
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China Standard Time (CST)
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Hovd Summer Time (HOVST)
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Irkutsk Time (IRKT)
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Malaysia Standard Time (MST)
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Malaysia Time (MYT)
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Philippine Time (PHT)
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Philippine Standard Time (PHST)
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Singapore Time (SGT)
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Singapore Standard Time (SST)
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Ulaanbaatar Standard Time (ULAT)
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Central Indonesia Time (WITA)
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Western Standard Time (WST)
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Hotel Time Zone (H)
Main Countries
HKT time zone is used in the following country:
In Hong Kong, this time zone is used throughout the country.
From 1885, HKT Time zone was determined by astronomical observations at the Hong Kong Observatory using a 6-inch equatorial mount and a 3-inch Transit Circle.
The time was announced to the general public, particularly mariners, by dropping a 6-feet diameter time ball from a mast exactly at 13:00 daily in front the Marine Police Headquarters Compound, where it is visible from the Victoria Harbour.
In January 1908, the time ball was relocated to the hill of Blackhead Point where it had even higher visibility. With the rise of radio broadcast and the launching of Radio Hong Kong in 1922, the importance of the time ball decreased.
It was decommissioned on 30 June 1933 and Hong Kong adopted daylight saving measures in 1941.
However, the practice eventually declined in popularity and was eliminated after 1979.
Current Hong Kong Time
In 1980, the Royal Observatory adopted a timing system based on a Caesium beam atomic clock.
This system narrowed the engineering tolerance down to less than 1 millisecond.
The frequency standard of the clock is based on the primary standard used by Japan's Communications Research Laboratory.
In 1994, the atomic clock was replaced with a newer model.
Current Hong Kong Time can be obtained from the Observatory's Network Time Server.
Current Hong Kong Time with seconds according to the official atomic clock.
