Qibla · Sichuan
Qibla direction in Panzhihua
To face the Kaaba in Panzhihua, turn to 279.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (9.0° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,253 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Panzhihua should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 279.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 279°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Panzhihua
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 9.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 279.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 9° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Panzhihua to Mecca points to 264.8° (west), 14.2° away from the correct 279.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 56 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 26.5851° N, 101.7128° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Panzhihua to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,253 km from Panzhihua as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,173 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from Panzhihua connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Panzhihua run 5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Panzhihua rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Panzhihua
On 133 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Panzhihua while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 1 May 2027 it happens at 18:26 local time.
On 217 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in May (31 days), for instance on 15 March 2027 at 08:23.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 08:23 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 09:09 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 09:46 |
| 1 May 2027 | 18:26 | 10:29 |
| 15 May 2027 | 17:47 | 11:07 |
| 1 June 2027 | 17:10 | 11:47 |
| 15 June 2027 | 16:55 | 12:08 |
| 1 July 2027 | 17:01 | 12:09 |
| 15 July 2027 | 17:25 | 11:50 |
| 1 August 2027 | 18:07 | 11:09 |
| 15 August 2027 | 18:43 | 10:29 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 09:36 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 08:51 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 07:58 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Panzhihua: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Panzhihua compared with other cities
The Qibla here is practically the same as in Beijing (278.9°), and Mecca is 1,131 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Lijiang (152 km), prays towards 278.3°, a difference of 0.7°.
Across the 612 cities in China on this site, the Qibla ranges from 249.0° in Tacheng to 286.5° in Suifenhe, a spread of 37.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for China.
Qibla in cities near Panzhihua
Qibla in Panzhihua: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Panzhihua?
It is 279.0° from true north, which is west: 9.0° north of west.
How far is Panzhihua from Mecca?
6,253 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,173 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Panzhihua?
On 133 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Panzhihua not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 264.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Panzhihua at 279.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 279.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.