Shanghai is usually 12 hours ahead of Philadelphia. Philadelphia observes daylight saving time and Shanghai does not, so the difference shifts by an hour around the changeovers.

ShanghaiPhiladelphia

Sunrise 5:04 AMSunset 6:58 PM(local)

Sunrise 5:49 AMSunset 8:26 PM(local)

Philadelphia: daylight saving timeNow UTC-4 EDT. Next change: November 1, 2026 β€” clocks go back 1 hour.
ShanghaiUTC+8
PhiladelphiaUTC-4EDT

πŸ‡¨πŸ‡³ Shanghai

Dialing code+86
Population24,874,500
Coordinates31.22Β°N, 121.46Β°E
Elevation12 m

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Philadelphia

Dialing code+1
Population1,573,916
Coordinates39.95Β°N, 75.16Β°W
Elevation12 m

No comfortable common working hours β€” these cities barely overlap.

Working hours assumed 9:00–18:00.

Frequently asked questions

What is the time difference between Shanghai and Philadelphia?
Shanghai is 12 hours ahead of Philadelphia. Use the side-by-side clocks and the day/night strips above to convert any hour between them.
When is the best time to call between Shanghai and Philadelphia?
There is no hour when standard working hours (9:00–18:00) overlap in both Shanghai and Philadelphia, so any call falls outside business hours for at least one side.
Why does the time difference between Shanghai and Philadelphia change?
Because at least one of Shanghai and Philadelphia observes daylight saving time, the difference shifts by an hour when one city changes its clocks and the other has not yet (or does not).