Is china a day behind the US or ahead?

Answer 1

China is a day ahead of the United States.

Answer 2

It can be one day ahead in China because it is positioned so much farther east on the Earth. China is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) +8 and the East Coast (EST) of the US is GMT -5.

The Earth rotates in such a way that the sun lights it up around the world starting from east to west. Although it is actually the earth movement, we have come to talk about it as if the sun moves. So, using that way to talk about it, when the sun "passes" the International Date Line (which is arbitrarily positioned west of Hawaii and east of Japan), we say the calendar date changes. Then as the sun "moves" on its way back around for another day, there is sunrise in the Eastern Hemisphere of the earth (where China is) and the new day starts there before the sun gets back to rise in the US in the Western Hemisphere 13 hours later.

Examples:

If it is noon (12:00 pm EST) in New York on the US east coast, and China is 13 hours ahead, then it is 1:00 am the next day there in China.

But, if it is 2:00 am EST in the US, then it is 3:00 pm in China (still the same day)

Answer 3

China is ahead of the US in terms of time zones. China is typically 12-16 hours ahead of the US, depending on the specific location within China and the time of year due to daylight saving time differences.

Answer 4

12 to 18 hours