NANJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- On July 22, China will witness a total solar eclipse that astronomers said would be the longest-lasting one ever observed in China since 1814.

    It will not be surpassed in duration until 2309.

    The total process will last for about two hours. The solar eclipse can be observed from within a narrow corridor in China, about 250 km wide and 10,000 km long. Southern Tibet will be the first region in China to record the astronomical phenomena, followed by northwestern Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang.

    In these areas, people can observe four- to- six minutes of total eclipse. The following is the timetable for observation in major cities provided by the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, based in Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu Province:

    City begins total eclipse ends Shanghai 8:23'25" 9:35'44"-9:41'49" 11:01'36"Chongqing 8:07'54" 9:12'59"-9:17'17" 10:30'34"Changzhou 8:21'44" 9:35'23"-9:37'34" 10:57'55"Wuxi 8:22'03" 9:35'10"-9:39'01" 10:58'48"Suzhou 8:22'21" 9:35'13"-9:40'10" 10:59'41"Hangzhou 8:21'26" 9:34'11"-9:39'40" 10:59'21"Ningbo 8:23'07" 9:37'20"-9:41'50" 11:02'44"Jiaxing 8:22'20" 9:35'01"-9:40'57" 11:00'21"Huzhou 8:21'31" 9:33'50"-9:39'41" 10:58'50"Shaoxing 8:21'52" 9:35'19"-9:40'05" 11:00'26"Zhoushan 8:23'54" 9:38'01"-9:43'16" 11:03'53"Hefei 8:18'39" 9:30'48"-9:32'49" 10:52'07"Wuhu 8:19'37" 9:31'06"-9:36'10" 10:54'45"Anshan 8:19'57" 9:32'15"-9:35'29" 10:54'47"Tongling 8:18'49" 9:29'47"-9:35'31" 10:53'46"Anqing 8:17'46" 9:28'30"-9:34'01" 10:52'15"Mt.Huang 8:18'58" 9:32'40"-9:34'19" 10:55'27"Chaohu 8:19'10" 9:30'47"-9:34'46" 10:53'29"Liu'an 8:17'45" 9:28'58"-9:32'00" 10:50'31"Xuanzhou 8:19'55" 9:31'26"-9:37'10" 10:55'47"Guichi 8:18'19" 9:29'13"-9:34'54" 10:53'10"Jiujiang 8:16'19" 9:28'46"-9:30'00" 10:50'15"Wuhan 8:14'53" 9:23'56"-9:29'24" 10:46'15"Huangshi 8:15'31" 9:25'32"-9:30'16" 10:48'05"Jingzhou 8:12'48" 9:20'47"-9:25'57" 10:41'56"Yichang 8:12'11" 9:19'27"-9:24'48" 10:40'01"Jingmen 8:13'09" 9:20'58"-9:26'07' 10:41'48"Ezhou 8:15'25" 9:25'00"-9:30'14" 10:47'37"Xiaogan 8:14'41" 9:23'25"-9:28'53" 10:45'22"Huanggang 8:15'25" 9:24'56"-9:30'15" 10:47'33"Xianning 8:14'35" 9:24'52"-9:28'12" 10:46'26"Suizhou 8:14'36" 9:24'08"-9:26'53" 10:44'02"Enshi 8:10'28" 9:16'50"-9:21'58" 10:36'26"Chengdu 8:07'05" 9:11'06"-9:14'29" 10:26'22"Zigong 8:06'44" 9:10'55"-9:15'07" 10:27'27"Suining 8:07'51" 9:12'09"-9:16'43" 10:28'59"Neijiang 8:07'01" 9:11'08"-9:15'45" 10:27'59"Leshan 8:06'15" 9:09'31"-9:14'19" 10:25'38"Nanchong 8:08'22" 9:13'10"-9:17'15" 10:30'00"Guang'an 8:08'30" 9:13'16"-9:18'09" 10:30'56"Dazhou 8:09'34" 9:15'44"-9:18'30" 10:32'34"Ya'an 8:06'05" 9:08'57"-9:13'36" 10:24'24"Meishan 8:06'35" 9:09'52"-9:14'38" 10:25'53"Ziyang 8:07'05" 9:10'46"-9:15'37" 10:27'18"Kangding 8:05'34" 9:08'06"-9:12'16' 10:22'38"