Jet lag when you fly to Taiyuan

Taiyuan is on Asia/Shanghai. How much jet lag you get depends entirely on where you start — how many time zones you cross, and in which direction. Travelling east is the harder direction. Shift your bedtime earlier for several days beforehand and seek bright morning light on arrival.

Jet lag to Taiyuan by departure city

From Time zones Direction Distance Flight (approx.) Recovery
Los Angeles 15 → east 10,451 km 13 hours ~15 days
New York City 12 → east 11,251 km 14 hours ~12 days
São Paulo 11 → east 17,478 km 21½ hours ~11 days
London 7 → east 8,127 km 10½ hours ~7 days
Paris 6 → east 8,181 km 10½ hours ~6 days
Johannesburg 6 → east 11,312 km 14 hours ~6 days
Dubai 4 → east 5,525 km 7½ hours ~4 days
Mumbai 3 → east 4,360 km 6 hours ~3 days
Sydney 2 ← west 8,920 km 11 hours ~1 day
Tokyo 1 ← west 2,420 km 3½ hours ~1 day
Singapore same zone 4,164 km 5½ hours none

Distances are great-circle; flight times are rough nonstop estimates. Recovery uses ~1 day per zone east, faster west.

Beating jet lag in Taiyuan

Jet lag happens because your body clock stays on home time for a while after you land. The bigger the offset between Taiyuan and where you flew from, the longer it takes to catch up — roughly a day for each time zone when you travel east, and somewhat faster when you travel west, because it is easier to stay up late than to force yourself to sleep early.

A few days before you fly, nudge your sleep schedule toward Taiyuan time — earlier if you are heading east, later if west. On arrival, get outside: daylight is the strongest signal for resetting your clock. Morning light helps after an eastward trip; evening light helps after a westward one. To see the exact current offset, check the current time in Taiyuan.

Frequently asked questions

How bad is jet lag flying to Taiyuan?
It depends where you start. From Los Angeles you cross 15 time zones travelling east, which typically takes about 15 days to shake off. From cities in a similar longitude to Taiyuan there is little or no jet lag at all.
Is jet lag worse flying east or west to Taiyuan?
Flying east — where you lose hours and have to fall asleep earlier — is generally harder than flying west, for the same number of time zones. The table above marks the direction of each route so you know which kind of adjustment to expect.
How long does it take to get over jet lag in Taiyuan?
A common rule of thumb is one day of recovery per time zone crossed when heading east, and a little faster heading west. Bright light at the right time of day and adjusting your sleep before you fly both speed it up.

See also: current time in Taiyuan · time zones in China · all jet lag guides