Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Amsterdam to Shanghai. The right side wins overall because the takeoff view over Amsterdam and the IJsselmeer is genuinely spectacular and unique, and during the cruise the right side faces south, giving views of the Ural Mountains crossing, the Kazakh steppe, and the Tian Shan range on the horizon as the route tracks across Central Asia. The landing view on the left is excellent but the right side accumulates more interesting geography across the full 10-11 hour flight.

During takeoff from Schiphol (AMS), sit on the Right side for the best views. Schiphol's primary departure runways (18R/36L and 06/24 complex) mean eastbound flights to China typically depart heading east or northeast, putting Amsterdam city center and the IJ waterway on the right side. You get a clear view over the historic canal ring, the port of Amsterdam, and the IJmeer before the aircraft tracks northeast over the Netherlands. Notable sights include: Amsterdam canal ring and city center, IJmeer lake, IJsselmeer (former Zuiderzee), Dutch polder landscape with characteristic rectangular fields.

When landing at Shanghai Pudong International (PVG), sit on the Left side for the best views. Pudong airport sits on the east bank of the Huangpu River delta, and aircraft typically approach from the east over the East China Sea on runways 34L/34R or 16L/16R. An approach from the north or northwest puts the Huangpu River, the Pudong skyline with the Shanghai Tower cluster, and the Bund on the left side of the aircraft as you descend over the flat Yangtze delta. Notable sights include: Pudong skyline (Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower), the Huangpu River snaking through the city, the Yangtze River mouth and its massive delta sediment plume, flat agricultural land of the Yangtze delta plain.

The flight from Schiphol (AMS) to Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) takes Approximately 10 to 11 hours.

The route tracks northeast over Germany and Poland, then southeast across Belarus and Ukraine or Russia depending on current airspace restrictions, crossing the Ural Mountains (a low, broad ridge visible as a dark forested spine), then over the vast flat West Siberian Plain and Kazakh steppe. The route then passes near or over the Altai Mountains and descends toward China over the Gobi Desert margin and the North China Plain before reaching the Yangtze delta. The Tian Shan range may be visible to the south as a dramatic snow-capped wall depending on exact routing.