Prefer city; district helps if available. Province‑only is coarse and can widen true‑solar error and hour edges.

Daylight saving time?

The product applies historical DST and zones; you only need honest place and the local clock you used at birth.

Born in A but hukou in B?

Use where birth actually happened (hospital city or family residence then)—not ancestry unless you were literally born there.

How far from “Beijing time” can true solar time be?

It varies by longitude—there’s no single national offset. Inside one zone, east–west spread can still move hour judgments—that’s why city matters.

Do old reports auto‑update if I change place?

New runs use the latest profile; already generated pages follow each screen’s rules—regenerate if you want a clean compare.

HK, Macao, Taiwan, or overseas?

Use the local city; don’t pre‑convert to Beijing. Real local clock + place matter most.

Why birth place matters: true solar time and your chart

Getting started Tips

Four pillars translate your birth moment through local true solar time into day and hour pillars, among others. True solar time is roughly “where the sun is in the sky” as a clock; everyday zone time (including Beijing time) is the same wall clock across longitudes, but the sun isn’t.

Across China—or abroad—two people both typing “12:00” can have very different true solar times. If you only remember Beijing time but not where you were born, longitude is missing: hour boundaries (and in edge cases even day boundaries) can shift—hour pillar wobbles first; in extremes the day pillar lands in a gray zone.

The app combines city‑level coordinates with historical time zones and DST rules to map your remembered clock time onto pillars closer to the astronomical day. Pick the city honestly; we handle the rest.

Below: what this solves, what to prepare, and where to tap in Explore.

What this guide is about

Ignoring longitude while using “Beijing time” alone can skew day and hour; birth place anchors true solar time.

What you'll be able to do

How true solar time is used here, when to double‑check place, and how big errors can be.

Get these ready first

Prefer city‑level (coordinates behind the scenes)
If born abroad, use the local city—no manual conversion to Beijing time first
If the clock time is fuzzy, at least lock date, then ask about hour edges in chat

Steps

Enter birth place in the profile
In Explore, open birth info and search or select a city. It’s stored for later pillars and true solar time.
Run a chart‑based report
Choose Core chart or similar. If you’re unsure you’re near an hour boundary, add place and clock details in chat so the reading lines up.

FAQ

Is province enough?: Prefer city; district helps if available. Province‑only is coarse and can widen true‑solar error and hour edges.
Daylight saving time?: The product applies historical DST and zones; you only need honest place and the local clock you used at birth.
Born in A but hukou in B?: Use where birth actually happened (hospital city or family residence then)—not ancestry unless you were literally born there.
How far from “Beijing time” can true solar time be?: It varies by longitude—there’s no single national offset. Inside one zone, east–west spread can still move hour judgments—that’s why city matters.
Do old reports auto‑update if I change place?: New runs use the latest profile; already generated pages follow each screen’s rules—regenerate if you want a clean compare.
HK, Macao, Taiwan, or overseas?: Use the local city; don’t pre‑convert to Beijing. Real local clock + place matter most.

Fix your profile in Explore, then run chart‑based reports

Saved birth place joins true solar time and pillars; update the profile before regenerating pillar‑dependent readings.

Open Explore