China, on the other hand, has kept it relatively simple by abolishing all time zones and uniformly running on “Beijing Time,” or UTC+08. Of course, this means the population (and the sunrise) is incredibly out of sync, considering that China geographically spans five time zones. While Beijing has a relatively normal sunrise just after 6 AM, those living in the western city of Urumqi could see the sun rise as late as 10 AM in the winter. Establishing Beijing Time was a political maneuver; “The CCP has fostered a fire nationalism in which powerful symbols like ‘Beijing Time’ play an important role,” says Jonathan Hassid of the China Research Center at Australia’s University of Technology. “Hourly reinforcement, in the countryside and in distant cities alike, of Beijing’s temporal primacy helps reinforce national unity under an all-powerful central government.”

But let’s return to the western-most city of Urumqi, which also serves as the capital of the Xinjiang province of China. Xinjiang has been staging a time rebellion for decades, creating a local time two hours behind Beijing Time. “Xinjiang Time” is a relatively small rebellion in terms of the province’s long history of ethnic and political rivalry; however, given China’s need for symbolic centralization, it has no doubt become an important part of the identity of those living in the autonomous region. This is especially true among the mostly Sunni Muslim Uyghur population, who have long faced violent oppression at the hands of the CCP. This lies in stark contrast to its capital of Urumqi, whose majority government-supported Han population is happy to use Beijing Time. Urumqi simply adjusted their operation schedules to reflect natural waking hours, therefore, a store may be open from noon to 10 PM.