Except for a few hills lying in the southwest corner, most parts of the Shanghai area belong to the alluvial plain of the Yangtze River Delta. Owing to its advantageous geographic location and easy accesses to a vast hinterland, Shanghai has now become an excellent sea and river port. The average sea-level elevation is about four meters. The land slopes slightly downward east to west. The highest point within Shanghai is Dajin Hill which has a sea-level elevation of 103.4 meters.

Shanghai enjoys a mild and moist climate, a subtropical maritime monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. The warm spring and cool autumn are more comfortable seasons. The best times to visit Shanghai are in spring or autumn.

The Mei Yu Season, 'Plum Rain Season' lasts for about a month staring from early summer when the plums ripen along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. During this period from mid-June to early July it is difficult to tell whether it will be wet or dry and the rainfall will often equal twenty-five percent of the city’s annual total. From late August and through the first twenty days of September, typhoons can bring heavy rain in their wake. You’d better bring an umbrella during these periods.