Golden hour in Xining, China today

Evening golden hour in Xining, China runs 18:30 – 19:20 today, Saturday 26 September — that is 49m of usable low light before blue hour takes over.

This evening

Golden hour: 18:30 – 19:20
Duration: 49m
Sunset: 19:04
Blue hour: 19:20 – 19:30
Sunset direction: 269° (W)

19h 2m until sunset

This morning

Golden hour: 06:47 – 07:37
Duration: 49m
Sunrise: 07:03
Blue hour: 06:37 – 06:47
Sunrise direction: 91° (E)

The next seven days

Evening golden hour, blue hour and sunset for the coming week in Xining.
Date	Golden hour starts	Golden hour ends	Duration	Blue hour	Sunset	Sunset direction
Sat 26 Sep	18:30	19:20	49m	19:20 – 19:30	19:04	269° W
Sun 27 Sep	18:28	19:18	49m	19:18 – 19:28	19:03	268° W
Mon 28 Sep	18:27	19:17	49m	19:17 – 19:27	19:01	268° W
Tue 29 Sep	18:25	19:15	49m	19:15 – 19:25	19:00	268° W
Wed 30 Sep	18:24	19:14	49m	19:14 – 19:24	18:58	267° W
Thu 1 Oct	18:22	19:12	50m	19:12 – 19:22	18:57	267° W
Fri 2 Oct	18:21	19:11	50m	19:11 – 19:21	18:55	266° W

Golden hour in September 2026

Evening golden hour start, end and duration for every day of September 2026.
Date	Starts	Ends	Duration	Sunset
Tue 1	19:07	19:57	50m	19:41
Wed 2	19:06	19:56	50m	19:40
Thu 3	19:04	19:55	50m	19:38
Fri 4	19:03	19:53	50m	19:37
Sat 5	19:01	19:52	50m	19:36
Sun 6	19:00	19:50	50m	19:34
Mon 7	18:58	19:49	50m	19:33
Tue 8	18:57	19:47	50m	19:31
Wed 9	18:55	19:46	50m	19:30
Thu 10	18:54	19:44	50m	19:28
Fri 11	18:53	19:43	50m	19:27
Sat 12	18:51	19:41	49m	19:25
Sun 13	18:50	19:40	49m	19:24
Mon 14	18:48	19:38	49m	19:22
Tue 15	18:47	19:37	49m	19:21
Wed 16	18:45	19:35	49m	19:19
Thu 17	18:44	19:33	49m	19:18
Fri 18	18:42	19:32	49m	19:16
Sat 19	18:41	19:30	49m	19:15
Sun 20	18:39	19:29	49m	19:13
Mon 21	18:38	19:27	49m	19:12
Tue 22	18:36	19:26	49m	19:10
Wed 23	18:35	19:24	49m	19:09
Thu 24	18:33	19:23	49m	19:07
Fri 25	18:31	19:21	49m	19:06
Sat 26	18:30	19:20	49m	19:04
Sun 27	18:28	19:18	49m	19:03
Mon 28	18:27	19:17	49m	19:01
Tue 29	18:25	19:15	49m	19:00
Wed 30	18:24	19:14	49m	18:58

How much golden light each month gives you

Total evening golden-hour minutes available in each month. December is the strongest, at about 30 hours across the month; the year ranges by 14%.

What the numbers mean for Xining

Through September the evening window averages about 50 minutes a day here.

December is the most generous month at roughly 58 minutes an evening, and March the tightest at about 50 minutes — a difference of 1.2×. That gap is geometry, not weather: the shallower the sun meets the horizon, the longer it spends crossing the golden band.

A month from now the evening window will be about 2 minutes longer than tonight, and it will start at 17:47.

The light comes from west tonight, at 269° on the compass. Check that against your viewpoint before committing to it — the bearing moves through the year, as the table above shows.

What counts as golden hour

Golden hour is defined here by the sun’s altitude, not by a fixed number of minutes. It runs while the sun sits between +6° and −4° relative to the horizon: high enough to still light the scene, low enough that the light has travelled through a long path of atmosphere and lost its blue.

Below −4° the direct light is gone and blue hour takes over, running to −6° where civil twilight ends. Because the definition is angular, the length of golden hour depends on how steeply the sun meets the horizon — which is a function of latitude and season, not of the clock. That is why it lasts 49m here today and about 40 minutes at the equator.

Full definitions of every term used here — golden hour, blue hour, altitude, azimuth — are in the glossary.

Full sunrise and sunset times for Xining Twilight, solar noon, moon phases, the monthly calendar and the year in one chart.