Distance from Kabul to Shanghai
The great-circle distance between Kabul, Afghanistan and Shanghai, China is 4,842 km (3,009 mi · 2,615 nmi) — the shortest possible route over the Earth's surface, the path aircraft approximately follow.
The numbers
- Great-circle distance
- 4,842 km · 3,009 mi · 2,615 nmi
- Initial bearing Kabul → Shanghai
- 79° (E)
- Initial bearing Shanghai → Kabul
- 289° (WNW)
- Nonstop flight (rough estimate)
- ≈ 6 h 21 min
- Time zones
- Kabul UTC+04:30 · Shanghai UTC+08:00 (+3.5 h)
- Sunrise gap today
- 209 min — the sun rises later in Kabul
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
- Kabul
- 34.5281, 69.1723
- Sunrise / sunset today
- 01:12 UTC / 13:21 UTC
- Shanghai
- 31.2222, 121.4581
- Sunrise / sunset today
- 21:43 UTC / 09:52 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.