How far is Shanghai from the sea?
Shanghai is close to the sea: the nearest coastline is 19 km (12 miles) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in Shanghai, China.
To the coast
19 km
12 miles · straight line
Nearest land border
790 km
with North Korea
Setting
Near the coast
112th farthest from the sea of 182 cities
ShanghaiNearest point on the coast
How far are you from the sea?
Measure from where you are standing. On a phone this uses GPS, so the answer is for your exact spot, not the city centre.
Shanghai at a glance
- Coordinates
- 31.2222° N, 121.4581° E
- Region
- Shanghai, China
- Distance to the coast
- 19 km (12 miles), in a straight line
- Nearest point on the coast
- 31.3800° N, 121.5440° E (Shanghai, China)
- Nearest land border
- 790 km (491 miles), with North Korea
- Among China's cities
- 4th farthest from the sea of the 4 cities measured
Nearby cities and the coast
Questions
How far is Shanghai from the sea?
Shanghai is close to the sea: the nearest coastline is 19 km (12 miles) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in Shanghai, China.
Is that the driving distance?
No. 19 km (12 miles) is the straight-line distance from the city centre to the nearest point on the shore. The drive to a beach is longer, often much longer, and depends on the roads.
How far is Shanghai from the nearest border?
Shanghai is 790 km (491 miles) from the nearest land border, with North Korea, in a straight line.
Where in Shanghai is this measured from?
From the city's centre point (31.2222° N, 121.4581° E). A large city spreads out, so some neighbourhoods are closer to the sea than this and some farther. For an exact figure from where you are, use your own location.
Measured by MapGO on October 8, 2026 with the same coastline data as the distance to coastline calculator. All distances are straight lines over the Earth's surface.