Qibla direction
Qibla Direction in Shanghai
The bearing from Shanghai, China to the Kaaba in Makkah, with a compass and a step-by-step guide.
The compass
Face the gold square
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How to
Face the Qibla, properly
Three steps that work without special equipment — plus the one caveat about phone compasses.
Find true north
The bearing on this page is measured clockwise from true north. Open a compass app, hold the phone flat and calibrate with a figure-eight motion if the reading drifts.
Turn to the stated bearing
From true north, rotate clockwise by the bearing shown on this page. That line points from Shanghai toward the Kaaba.
Hold the line
Choose a fixed object on the line — a doorway, a window or a mark on the wall — so you can return to the same direction for later prayers without the phone.
The bearing is a great-circle direction on a sphere. It is shown from the city centre; a few kilometres across Shanghai changes it by a fraction of a degree, which does not affect your prayer.
Questions
The Qibla from Shanghai
Bearing, true north and why the angle is what it is.
What is the Qibla direction in Shanghai?
The Qibla is the great-circle direction from Shanghai to the Kaaba in Makkah. This page shows the exact bearing once the Qibla service responds.
Is this bearing measured from true north or magnetic north?
True north. A physical or phone compass may point to magnetic north, which differs by the local magnetic declination — often a few degrees. Apply the local declination, or use the DeenDock app, which corrects for it on supported phones.
Why does the Qibla in Shanghai not point straight east?
The shortest path to Makkah is a great-circle route on a sphere, not a straight line on a flat map. That is why the bearing changes with your position and rarely matches a simple compass point.