Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HKT; ) is the time in Hong Kong, observed at UTC+08:00 all year round. The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the Hong Kong Time.
Hong Kong adopted daylight saving measures in 1941. However, the practice eventually declined in popularity and was eliminated after 1979.
It is indicated as Asia/Hong_Kong in the IANA time zone database.
Time standards
In Hong Kong, Hong Kong Time is defined in the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap 1), Laws of Hong Kong.
Section 67(2) of the Ordinance states that:
<blockquote>"Hong Kong Time" () means the time used for general purposes throughout Hong Kong namely, 8 hours, or such other period as may be determined by the Legislative Council by resolution under this subsection or under section 16 of the Oil (Conservation and Control) Ordinance (Cap 264), in advance of Universal Standard Time.</blockquote>
Currently, Hong Kong time is defined as UTC+08:00. The reference in section 67(2) to the Oil (Conservation and Control) Ordinance is actually a power given to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong to change Hong Kong Time for the purposes of conserving oil, i.e. to implement daylight saving time. However, no daylight saving time has been observed since 1979.
The Hong Kong Time was first set to Local Mean Time (GMT+07:36:42) on 1 January 1885 at 13:00 by the then Royal Observatory Hong Kong. In 1904, the Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as the basis for Hong Kong Time, the time was set at 8 hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time. after the Hong Kong handover.
Timekeeping
thumb|The time ball in front of [[Marine Police Headquarters Compound, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon .]]thumb|The time ball tower at [[Blackhead Point in 1908.]]From 1885, Hong Kong Time was determined by astronomical observations at the Hong Kong Observatory using a equatorial mount and a Transit Circle.