London to Shanghai: time difference and best times to meet
Shanghai is 7 hours ahead of London. Their working days overlap for 2 hours, from 9am to 11am in London (4pm–6pm in Shanghai). The best time to schedule is 9am London time, which is 4pm in Shanghai.
Europe/London
Asia/Shanghai
Hour-by-hour overlap
Each row is one hour of the London day and the matching hour in Shanghai. Adjust the working hours to match how your team actually works.
| London | Shanghai | Suitable? |
|---|---|---|
| 2am | 9am | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 3am | 10am | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 4am | 11am | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 5am | 12pm | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 6am | 1pm | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 7am | 2pm | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 8am | 3pm | Working hours in Shanghai only |
| 9am | 4pm | Both cities at work |
| 10am | 5pm | Both cities at work |
| 11am | 6pm | Working hours in London only |
| 12pm | 7pm | Working hours in London only |
| 1pm | 8pm | Working hours in London only |
| 2pm | 9pm | Working hours in London only |
| 3pm | 10pm | Working hours in London only |
| 4pm | 11pm | Working hours in London only |
| 5pm | 12am | Working hours in London only |
Best times to propose
- 1. 9am in London · 4pm in Shanghai — Right at the edge of someone's day
- 2. 10am in London · 5pm in Shanghai — Right at the edge of someone's day
Avoid 2am London time and 3am London time — only the other city is at work.
When the gap changes in the next twelve months
- Sunday, October 25, 2026 — Shanghai goes from 7 hours ahead of to 8 hours ahead of London.
- Sunday, March 28, 2027 — Shanghai goes from 8 hours ahead of to 7 hours ahead of London.
Recurring meetings set as a fixed clock time in one city will move by an hour for the other on these dates.
Public holidays to avoid
Dates where one side is off work while the other is not are the most common cause of no-shows on this route.
- Friday, September 25, 2026 — Mid-Autumn Festival — Shanghai is off, London is working.
- Thursday, October 1, 2026 — National Day — Shanghai is off, London is working.
- Monday, November 30, 2026 — Saint Andrew's Day — London is off, Shanghai is working.
- Friday, December 25, 2026 — Christmas Day — London is off, Shanghai is working.
- Monday, December 28, 2026 — St. Stephen's Day — London is off, Shanghai is working.
With 2 shared working hours, London and Shanghai can run standing meetings without anyone giving up an evening — as long as the slot sits inside that window on both sides of the next clock change.
Sending a booking link avoids the arithmetic entirely: each side picks a time in their own zone and both calendars get the correct local time, including after a daylight-saving change. See how LemCall handles cross-timezone bookings.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the time difference between London and Shanghai?
- Shanghai is currently 7 hours ahead of London. That changes to 8 hours ahead of on Sunday, October 25, 2026, when one side shifts for daylight saving.
- When is the best time to schedule a meeting between London and Shanghai?
- 9am in London, which is 4pm in Shanghai. Right at the edge of someone's day.
- How many hours do London and Shanghai overlap?
- 2 hours, from 9am to 11am London time (4pm–6pm in Shanghai).
- Does daylight saving change the London–Shanghai gap?
- Yes. Over the next twelve months the difference changes 2 times: Sunday, October 25, 2026 (7 hours ahead of becomes 8 hours ahead of); Sunday, March 28, 2027 (8 hours ahead of becomes 7 hours ahead of).
- Are there public holidays that affect London–Shanghai meetings?
- Yes. The next is Friday, September 25, 2026 — a public holiday where Shanghai is, but a normal working day in London.
Nearby pairs
Other meeting-time pages for London
Sources
- 1.IANA. Time Zone Database
- 2.Nager.Date. Public holidays API · Retrieved