I have investigated the timezones around 1970 on the http://www.astro.com/atlas site, and here are the results. I am attaching a GIF file of the map I have built based on this information. The red borders are the modern-time administrative borders, while the green lines are the timezone borders I have determined, note that some of them are partially hidden behind the red lines. There are no big surprises. Most timezones follow modern-day administrative boundaries, with the exceptions being Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet), Qinghai, Gansu, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia) and Guangdong. There was an exception in Heliongjiang region on GMT+8.5 where the northern-most county Mohe is on GMT+8. A few other exceptions were two counties on the Sichuan side of the Xizang - Sichuan border, counties Dege and Baiyu which lies on the Sichuan side and are therefore supposed to be GMT+7, Xizang region being GMT+6, but Dege county is GMT+8 according to astro.com while Baiyu county is GMT+6 (could be true), for the moment I am assuming that those two counties are mistakes in the astro.com data. The biggest surprise was that region Guangdong were dived in 3 timezones, a south/west part on GMT+6 (counties Xuwen, Haikang, Suixi, Lianjiang, Zhanjiang, Wuchuan, Huazhou, Gaozhou, Maoming, Dianbai, Xinyi) a central part on GMT+7 (counties Yangchun, Yangjiang, Taishan, Kaiping, Xinxing, Luoding, Yu'nan, Yunfu, Taishan, Deqing and Enping) and a north/east part on GMT+8 with the rest of the counties. Zone Asia/Harbin on GMT+8.5: regions Heilongjiang (minus Mohe) and Jilin. Zone Asia/Shanghai on GMT+8: regions east Nei Mongol, Liaoning, Hebei + Beijing, Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, north/east Guangdong and Mohe county of Heilongjiang. Zone Asia/Chongqing on GMT+7: regions west Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, east Gansu, west Qinghai, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Hainan island and the central part of Guangdong province. Zone Asia/Urumqi on GMT+6: regions east Xinjiang, west Gansu (counties Dunhuang, Aksay, Anxi, Subei), west Qinghai, east Xizang (Tibet) and east Guangdong. Zone Asia/Kashgar on GMT+5: regions west Xinjiang, west Xizang. Regards, - Jesper Jesper Nørgaard Welen Email: jnorgard@Prodigy.Net.mx Project Leader (Líder de Proyecto) Software CIMMYT - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo Dirección: CIMMYT Int. c/o Jesper Nørgaard Km. 45, Carretera México-Veracruz El Batán Texcoco, Edo. de México CP 56130 MEXICO Tel.: +52 (55) 58-04-20-04 ext. 1374 Fax: +52 (55) 58-04-75-58 Tel. Casa: 53-10-05-95 ó 53-10-97-78 Download the shareware program World Time Explorer, I made: http://www.worldtimeexplorer.com/index.html
