Martin Wohlert wrote: >> Then The Empire is about the size of Europe, or roughly 4 million >> square miles. China is about 3.7 million square miles and is in >> one time zone. > > According to my map China is in about 3 time zones (tiny parts > touching two more). > That they have a standardized time for the whole country is a very > different matter. No, that's exactly what a time zone is. We standardize clocks to act as though they were all at one longitude, even though they aren't. Some places have an hour's worth of standardization - China has a bigger area. No substantive difference in these concepts. There are places around the world where you move into a different time zone by moving north and south.