diff --git a/test/datetime.test.js b/test/datetime.test.js
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/datetime.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+// Copyright IBM Corp. 2012,2017. All Rights Reserved.
+// Node module: loopback-connector-mysql
+// This file is licensed under the MIT License.
+// License text available at https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
+
+'use strict';
+
+var DateString = require('../node_modules/loopback-datasource-juggler/lib/date-string');
+var fmt = require('util').format;
+var should = require('./init.js');
+
+var db, Person;
+describe('MySQL datetime handling', function() {
+  var personDefinition = {
+    name: String,
+    gender: String,
+    married: Boolean,
+    dob: {type: 'DateString'},
+    createdAt: {type: Date, default: Date},
+  };
+
+  // Modifying the connection timezones mid-flight is a pain,
+  // but closing the existing connection requires more effort.
+  function setConnectionTimezones(tz) {
+    db.connector.client._allConnections.forEach(function(con) {
+      con.config.timezone = tz;
+    });
+  }
+  before(function(done) {
+    db = getSchema({
+      dateStrings: true,
+    });
+    Person = db.define('Person', personDefinition, {forceId: true, strict: true});
+    db.automigrate(['Person'], done);
+  });
+
+  beforeEach(function() {
+    setConnectionTimezones('Z');
+  });
+  after(function(done) {
+    Person.destroyAll(function(err) {
+      db.disconnect(function() {
+        return done(err);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it('should allow use of DateStrings', function(done) {
+    var d = new DateString('1971-06-22');
+    return Person.create({
+      name: 'Mr. Pink',
+      gender: 'M',
+      dob: d,
+      createdAt: new Date(),
+    }).then(function(inst) {
+      return Person.findById(inst.id);
+    }).then(function(inst) {
+      inst.should.not.eql(null);
+      inst.dob.toString().should.eql(d.toString());
+      return done();
+    }).catch(function(err) {
+      return done(err);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('should allow use of alternate timezone settings', function() {
+    var d = new Date('1971-06-22T00:00:00.000Z');
+    testDateTime(d, '+04:00', '1971-06-22 04:00:00');
+    testDateTime(d, '-04:00', '1971-06-21 20:00:00');
+    testDateTime(d, '-11:00', '1971-06-21 13:00:00');
+    testDateTime(d, '+12:00', '1971-06-22 12:00:00');
+
+    function testDateTime(date, tz, expected) {
+      it(tz, function(done) {
+        setConnectionTimezones(tz);
+        db.settings.legacyUtcDateProcessing = false;
+        db.settings.timezone = tz;
+        var dt = new Date(date);
+        return Person.create({
+          name: 'Mr. Pink',
+          gender: 'M',
+          createdAt: dt,
+        }).then(function(inst) {
+          return Person.findById(inst.id);
+        }).then(function(inst) {
+          inst.should.not.eql(null);
+          inst.createdAt.toString().should.eql(expected);
+          return done();
+        }).catch(function(err) {
+          return done(err);
+        });
+      });
+    }
+  });
+});