Shanghai
6,341 km²
Shenzhen
1,997 km²
China
China
Area Comparison
Shanghai is 3.2x larger than Shenzhen
Population Comparison
Shanghai has 1.4x more people than Shenzhen
Yes — Shanghai is 3.2x larger than Shenzhen by area. Shanghai spans 6,341 km² (2,448 mi²) while Shenzhen covers 1,997 km² (771 mi²) — a difference of 4,344 km². You could fit Shenzhen inside Shanghai approximately 3 times.
To put Shanghai's size in perspective, its area of 6,341 km² is about 1.5x the size of Los Angeles metro. Meanwhile, Shenzhen at 1,997 km² is roughly the same size as Tokyo (city proper).
Picture Shanghai another way: its area is large enough to fit about 888,000 American football fields, 110 times the area of Manhattan, or 60 times the area of Paris. For Shenzhen, that's about 280,000 American football fields, 34 times the area of Manhattan, or 19 times the area of Paris.
Shanghai is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. It has a population of 29,558,908 in the urban area as of 2025. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River bisecting the city. Shanghai is a global center for finance, business and economics, research, science and technology, manufacturing, transportation, tourism, and culture. The Port of Shanghai is the world's busiest container port.
Known as "Pearl of the Orient", Shanghai covers 6,341 km² with a population of 24.9 million. The city was established in 1291. Shanghai is known for The Bund, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, among other attractions. The city's main transit system is the Shanghai Metro.
Shanghai's urban population reached 29.5 million in 2025, making it the most populous urban area in all of China.
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong to the south, Dongguan to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, and Macau to the southwest. With a population of 17.5 million in 2020, Shenzhen is the third-most-populous city by urban population in China after Shanghai and Beijing.
Nicknamed "China's Silicon Valley", Shenzhen has an area of 1,997 km² and is home to 17.6 million people. Its history stretches back to 1979. Visitors come for Ping An Finance Centre, Window of the World, OCT Loft, and much more. Getting around is easy with the Shenzhen Metro.
Shenzhen grew from a small town into China's third-most-populous urban city, hitting 17.5 million residents by 2020
Looking beyond city limits, the Shanghai metropolitan area covers 6,341 km², which is 3.2x larger than greater Shenzhen at 1,997 km². The Shanghai metro area is also more populous, with 28.5 million people compared to 17.6 million.
Shanghai has a population density of 3,922 people per km² — a moderately dense city. Shenzhen, with 8,793 people per km², is a densely populated city. Shenzhen is noticeably denser, packing 2.2 times more people per square kilometer.
Both Shanghai and Shenzhen are in China, making this a domestic size comparison that reveals how differently cities can develop within the same nation.
Both cities share a humid subtropical climate, though local geography creates distinct microclimates in each.
Size Ratio
Shenzhen fits inside Shanghai ~3 times
Density Gap
Shenzhen is 2.2x more densely populated
History
Shanghai is ~688 years older
Shanghai covers 6,341 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Perth (6,417 km²), Istanbul (5,461 km²), Guangzhou (7,434 km²), Wuhan (8,569 km²), or Dubai (4,114 km²).
Shenzhen covers 1,997 km². Cities with a similar urban footprint include Ho Chi Minh City (2,061 km²), Tokyo (2,194 km²), Riyadh (1,798 km²), Houston (1,725 km²), or Johannesburg (1,644 km²).
The straight-line distance from Shanghai to Shenzhen is 1,213 km (754 miles), with an estimated flight time of ~1h 56m.
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