Set Linux Timezone to CST (Asia/Shanghai) with timedatectl and Manual Methods

In Linux, you can set the timezone to CST (China Standard Time, GMT+8, also known as Asia/Shanghai) by following these steps.

Method 1: Using timedatectl (suitable for most modern distributions)

Check the current timezone: timedatectl List available timezones: timedatectl list-timezones | grep Shanghai Set the timezone to CST (Asia/Shanghai): sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Shanghai Verify the change:

timedatectl

Method 2: Manually linking /etc/localtime

Backup the existing timezone file: sudo mv /etc/localtime /etc/localtime.bak Create a symbolic link to the CST zone file:

sudo ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Asia/Shanghai /etc/localtime

Confirm the change:

date

Method 3: Setting the TZ environment variable (temporary)

If you only need a temporary adjustment, export the TZ variable: export TZ="Asia/Shanghai" Verify with: date Note: This method only affects the current session and will be lost after a reboot or when opening a new terminal.

Important Notes

Using timedatectl is the recommended approach for modern Linux distributions.

Ensure your system clock (UTC) is correct; the timezone setting only changes the displayed time.

Modifying /etc/localtime is suitable for older systems that do not support timedatectl.