Around 18:38 in mid-August, with the sky properly dark by about 19:03. Across the year it ranges from 17:05 in December to 19:11 in July. Full table and chart below.
Dark by 19:03? That is what wrecks your mornings.Captain Wake is the alarm you can't sleep through — finish a real mission to make it stop.
The daylight window in Xuancheng — sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month, local time, 2026:
Daylight window in Xuancheng by month — top of each bar is sunrise, bottom is sunset (local time).
Sunset, dusk and golden hour by month
“Dusk” is civil twilight — when it is genuinely dark. Golden hour is the warm light just before sunset.
Month
Golden hour
Sunset
Dark (dusk)
January
16:50
17:25
17:51
February
17:19
17:53
18:17
March
17:41
18:13
18:37
April
18:01
18:33
18:58
May
18:19
18:53
19:20
June
18:35
19:10
19:38
July
18:36
19:11
19:38
August
18:16
18:49
19:15
September
17:41
18:13
18:37
October
17:03
17:35
18:00
November
16:34
17:09
17:34
December
16:29
17:05
17:32
What the early sunset does to your mornings
In Xuancheng the sun goes down as early as 17:05 in December. Long dark evenings are not just gloomy — they shift your body clock. Darkness tells your brain to start winding down, but the bright screens and lamps we sit under after sunset override that signal and push the clock later. You end up going to bed too late for the alarm you have set, and the alarm then fires in the deepest part of your sleep.
It swings across the year. The earliest sunset is around 17:05 in December, and the latest is around 19:11 in July. The month-by-month table on this page lists the times, using the 15th of each month.
When does it actually get dark in Xuancheng?
Full darkness lands after civil dusk — roughly 30–40 minutes past sunset. In mid-August the sun sets around 18:38 and it is properly dark by about 19:03. The gap widens a little in summer and narrows in winter.
When is golden hour in Xuancheng?
The evening golden hour — the soft warm light photographers chase — runs from roughly 18:05 until sunset at 18:38 in mid-August. It shifts earlier through autumn and later through spring.
Why does an earlier sunset make it harder to wake up the next day?
Because evening darkness pulls your body clock earlier and forward-loads melatonin, but bright indoor light and screens after dark push it back again — so you drift later, sleep worse, and the morning alarm lands in deeper sleep. Getting daylight early and dimming screens after sunset is what keeps the clock honest.
Why people use Captain Wake to wake up on time
Not because it rings louder. Because it removes every way your half-asleep brain talks you back into bed.
1
There is no button to tap
Swiping an alarm away is a reflex you can perform while still asleep. A mission needs your thinking brain switched on — and once it is on, sinking back under is much harder.
2
It survives every trick
Force-quit the app, restart the phone, flip it to silent, turn the volume down. The alarm re-arms and keeps going until the mission is actually done.
3
It gets you physically upright
Photo and barcode missions are anchored to a spot in another room, so the only way to stop the noise is to stand up and walk there. You cannot pre-stage it from bed.
4
It fixes the night, not just the morning
A sleep forecast before bed, bedtime reminders and wake-up streaks — because the 6 AM problem usually starts at 1 AM.
When it's dark by 19:03, a normal alarm doesn't stand a chance.
Captain Wake keeps ringing until you get up and complete a real-world mission. No snooze, no swipe-and-sleep.
