Shanghai is located on the Yangtze River Delta on China’s east coast. The delta feeds into the East China Sea between the southern tip of Japan and northern Taiwan. It lies roughly equidistant between Beijing and Hong Kong and sits at the same latitude as San Diego, New Orleans, Bermuda, Cairo, Jerusalem and Lahore.

The city itself originally centered around the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze, but now extends far outwards in all directions. The suburbs and satellite towns now reach east to the East China Sea, north and west to Jiangsu Province and south to Zhejiang Province. Shanghai is roughly equidistant from Beijing and Hong Kong and is lo- cated at 31°12?N 121°30?E, the same latitude as San Diego, New Orleans, Bermuda, Marrakech and Cairo.

The vast majority of Shanghai’s 6,340km² of land area is flat, apart from a few hills and small mountains in the southwest Qingpu and Songjiang districts. This is due to its location on an alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta. Shanghai has some offshore islands, such as Dajinshan Island, Xiaojinshan Island and Fushan Island. Much of the area surrounding the city is in a state of development that resembles, to most, industrial devastation mixed with primitive agriculture.

Those wishing to escape the city for a dose of nature often travel to Hangzhou or Moganshan, which are only a few hours’ drive or a 45-minute high speed rail ride away and offer some beautiful scenery, though they are often full of tourists.

Source: http://expatessentials.net/shanghai-preparations-geography/