Dinghai District has a total area of 1,444.0 square kilometres, of which, 568.8 square kilometres is land, and the remaining 875.2 square kilometres is sea. Located in northeast
Zhejiang Province, southeast
Shanghai,
Hangzhou Bay, the outer edge of the
East China Sea. The district spans 128 islands, including
Zhoushan Island,
Jintang Island,
Damao Island (), , , and . Other islands include Changzhi Island () and Panzhi Island (). Many of the islands have hilly terrain, and the highest point in the district is Huangyanjian Mountain (), which reaches 503.6 meters in altitude. The area is rich in marine life, with 80 species of fish, and over 150 species of
shellfish. The endangered
black-faced spoonbill, the
yellow-billed egret, the
horned grebe, and other species of birds are also native to the island.
Climate North subtropical southern margin of the marine monsoon climate, warm in winter and cool in summer, mild and humid, plenty of light. The district experiences an average temperature of 16.8 °C. The district's coldest month is January, which averages 6.2 °C in temperature, and the district's warmest month is August, which averages 27.4 °C in temperature. The coldest temperature recorded in the district was −4.2 °C, which occurred on December 28, 1991. The warmest temperature recorded in the district was 40.2 °C, which occurred on July 21, 2007. Average annual rainfall in Dinghai is 1410.8 millimetres, and the district experiences an average of 149 rainy days per year. The area experiences
typhoons, heavy rains,
floods, and
droughts. The district was hit by a blizzard on March 12, 2005, which bought the most snowfall to the area since 1978. ==Administrative divisions==