Xinjiang time is not just the two hour difference with Beijing but the concept of time among people. I find that people here place a high value on punctuality even though things do not often start on time. A good example is a recent trip I took from a town in Southern Xinjiang to Urumqi. I was told to be ready for breakfast at 6:00 am Xinjiang time. However the next morning nothing was prepared. Breakfast actually started at 620. I do not know why. Nobody explained it to me. The bus was scheduled to leave at 7:00 and I made it just in time but it did not leave until 7:30. I do not know why. Again there was no explanation. The bus driver gave us thirty minutes for lunch but no one was hungry. It was 9:45.

新疆时间不仅仅是与北京两个小时的差时，而且是本地人对时间的概念。我发现尽管不少的事情不按时开始，但新疆人挺准时。很好的例子是近日从南疆返回乌鲁木齐的旅行。我被告知第二天的早饭是新疆时间６点钟吃，不过第二天不知什么没准备好。６：２０才就餐了。我不知道为什么，没人说明原因。公共汽车安排７点出发，而且我刚刚到了，不过７：３０才开走了。我不知道原因，又没有情况的解释。吃午饭时司机给我们３０分钟，他按时走了，没有人饥饿，因为才新疆时间９：４５。

Chinese are generally very punctual but I find in Xinjiang that many things just do not start on time.In this way Xinjiang seems to me a cross between Japan and South America. Japanese are extremely punctual and will call you immediately if you have not arrived on time for an appointment. When trains are late even by a few minutes there is an announcement apologizing for the delay. Most aspects of Japanese society are extremely sensitive to time which is a reflection of their development. During my time in Colombia South America I was astonished at how unimportant time seemed to be. A party that starts at 9 p.m. for example actually starts around 11 p.m. Business functions are different but just like Xinjiang many times things simply start late. It is a result of their attitude towards time but it is also a reflection of their development.

中国人一般来说很准时，但是在新疆很多事情就不按时开始。在这方面我看新疆是日本和南美的混合。日本人非常守时。如果迟到约会，人立刻地给你打电话。火车连几分钟迟到都有公共通告表示道歉。大多方面的日本社会对时间非常敏感，这就是日本发达的反映。我在南美的哥伦比亚的时候，人们不重视时间的状况使我吃惊。比方说，９点的聚会在１１点左右才正式开始。商业会议不同，但跟新疆一样经常延迟开始。这是他们对时间的看法的结果，也是南美发展的反映。

There seems to be a correlation between valuing time and the economic development of a nation. England Germany Japan Korea and America all place a high value on punctuality. Spain Italy France Latin American cultures and many African cultures do not value it as highly. Most anthropologists put China in the first category. Arriving late for appointments for example is considered rude here whereas in France or Brazil it is normal under certain circumstances. However there is usually an obvious reason things run late in these countries. As a foreigner in Xinjiang I am not always sure why things happen the way they do like stopping at 9:45 Xinjiang time for lunch. Someone said that the owner of the restaurant was a friend of the driver’s. This seems plausible to me because even though time is important here relationships come before everything else.

好像重视时间和国家的经济发展有互相关系。英国、德国、日本、韩国和美国等等都很看重准时。在西班牙、法国、意大利、拉丁美洲国家的文化和许多非洲国家的文化中没有那么重要。大多人类学家把中国归入第一类。在这里约会迟到是不礼貌的，但在法国、巴西等国家在一定的条件下是正常的。不过，在那些国家某件事情延迟开始常常有明显的原因。作为在新疆的外国人，我经常不太明白一些事，如在新疆时间９：４５吃午饭。有人说餐厅老板是司机的朋友。对我来说，这是可信的，因为尽管新疆人重视准时，但是关系比其他一切都重要。