Distance from Rio de Janeiro to Shanghai

The great-circle distance between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Shanghai, China is 18,238 km (11,333 mi · 9,848 nmi) — the shortest possible route over the Earth's surface, the path aircraft approximately follow.

The numbers
Great-circle distance
18,238 km · 11,333 mi · 9,848 nmi
Initial bearing Rio de Janeiro → Shanghai
55° (NE)
Initial bearing Shanghai → Rio de Janeiro
298° (WNW)
Nonstop flight (rough estimate)
≈ 22 h 07 min
Time zones
Rio de Janeiro UTC-03:00 · Shanghai UTC+08:00 (+11 h)
Sunrise gap today
659 min — the sun rises later in Rio de Janeiro

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
Rio de Janeiro
-22.9064, -43.1822
Sunrise / sunset today
08:42 UTC / 20:50 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.