Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city situated in the north of Zhejiang Province. It is located on the eastern coast of China, close to Shanghai. Shaoxing is to the south of the Yangtze River and on the south bank of the Qiantang River and Hangzhou Bay. Ningbo is to its east; Taizhou to the southeast; Jinhua to the southwest; and Hangzhou to the west.

Shaoxing is only 30 kilometers from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, and 232 kilometers southwest of Shanghai.

Covering an area of 8256 square kilometers, Shaoxing has a population of 4,332,700. One district (Yuecheng District); two counties (Shaoxing and Xinchang) and three county-level cities (Shangyu; Shengzhou; and Zhuji) comprise Shaoxing prefecture.