Distance from Los Angeles to Shanghai

The great-circle distance between Los Angeles, United States and Shanghai, China is 10,436 km (6,485 mi · 5,635 nmi) — the shortest possible route over the Earth's surface, the path aircraft approximately follow.

The numbers
Great-circle distance
10,436 km · 6,485 mi · 5,635 nmi
Initial bearing Los Angeles → Shanghai
312° (NW)
Initial bearing Shanghai → Los Angeles
46° (NE)
Nonstop flight (rough estimate)
≈ 12 h 56 min
Time zones
Los Angeles UTC-07:00 · Shanghai UTC+08:00 (+15 h)
Sunrise gap today
954 min — the sun rises later in Los Angeles

Flight time is a cruise-speed approximation (no routing/wind); driving distance depends on roads and is typically 20–40% longer than great-circle.

The two cities
Los Angeles
34.0522, -118.2437
Sunrise / sunset today
13:10 UTC / 02:49 UTC
Shanghai
31.2222, 121.4581
Sunrise / sunset today
21:16 UTC / 10:46 UTC

Open in the distance calculator Find the halfway point

Distances here are straight-line (great-circle). Road routes typically run 1.2–1.4× longer — here's why, with the visual.