Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Doha to Shanghai. Left side wins at both ends of the flight. During the cruise over Central Asia, the left side also faces south toward the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau as the route passes north of them, offering distant views of high terrain on clear days. The right side is consistently less interesting throughout.

During takeoff from Doha International (DOH), sit on the Left side for the best views. Doha's main departure runway 34L sends aircraft northward over the city. The left side gives you a clear view back over central Doha, the West Bay skyscraper district, and the shallow turquoise waters of the inner Qatar Bay. The right side faces the industrial port and open desert with little of interest. Notable sights include: West Bay skyline (Doha's downtown cluster), Qatar Bay shallow tidal flats, Pearl-Qatar artificial island, Hamad International Airport complex receding behind.

When landing at Shanghai Pudong International (PVG), sit on the Left side for the best views. Pudong Airport's main arrival runway 34L brings aircraft in from the south over the Yangtze River delta. The left side faces west toward central Shanghai, giving views of the Huangpu River, the Pudong financial district, and the dense urban grid of the city. The right side looks east over open East China Sea with nothing notable. Notable sights include: Huangpu River S-curve through central Shanghai, Pudong Lujiazui skyline (Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower cluster), Yangtze River mouth delta wetlands to the north, dense urban grid of Puxi district.

The flight from Doha International (DOH) to Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) takes Approximately 8 to 9 hours.

The route tracks northeast from Qatar across Iran's central plateau and the Zagros Mountains, then over Afghanistan and Pakistan's northwestern ranges, across the Tarim Basin and Taklamakan Desert in western China's Xinjiang region, over the Gobi Desert, then descending across the North China Plain toward the Yangtze delta. The Tibetan Plateau and Kunlun Mountains are visible as a distant elevated horizon to the south during the Central Asia segment on clear days.