National Time Service Center

National Time Service Center

国家授时中心
Agency overview
Formed	1966 (as Shaanxi Astronomy Observatory)
Jurisdiction	Chinese Academy of Sciences
Headquarters	Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Employees	450[1]
Agency executive	Zhang Shougang, Director
Website	ntsc.cas.cn

The National Time Service Center (NTSC; Chinese: 国家授时中心) is a public institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, responsible for generating, maintaining, and broadcasting standard time in China. It is located in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Its predecessor was the Shaanxi Astronomy Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was established in 1966 and renamed the National Time Service Center in March 2001.^[1] The center is China's only statutory agency for issuing national standard time and frequency.^[2]

NTSC includes short-wave (BPM) and long-wave (BPL) standard time and frequency radio stations. And in 2007, low-frequency (BPC) time signal station began trial broadcasting from Shangqiu.^[3]

In October 2025, China's national security authorities released the technical investigation report on the series of major cyber attacks carried out by the National Security Agency of the United States against the National Time Service Center from March 2022 to July 2024.^[4][5][6]

References

1. "Brief Introduction". NTSC. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
2. ""时间"的战争：起底美国NSA对华关键基础设施的隐秘攻击 - C114通信网". c114.com.cn. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
3. "History". NTSC. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
4. "CNCERT：关于国家授时中心遭受美国国家安全局网络攻击事件的技术分析报告". 安全内参. Archived from the original on 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
5. "中国称国家授时中心遭美国安局网络入侵". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 2025-10-20.
6. "关于国家授时中心遭受美国国家安全局网络攻击事件的技术分析报告" (PDF). National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China. 2025-10-19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-10-19.