Its area is 3,576.40 square kilometres (1,380.86 sq mi) and its permanent population as of 2010[update] is 942,197, compared to 1,024,876 registered with hukou permits.

Wafangdian City is located in the southwest of the Liaodong Peninsula, with a total area of 3,793 square kilometres (1,464 sq mi) and a population of around 1.02 million.

The area experiences a seasonal delay due to the influence of the nearby ocean, which also helps temper the summers.

In winter, as the Liaodong Bay is typically frozen north of the urban area of Dalian, the moderating effects of that body of water are minimised, as the Siberian high often causes winds to blow from the northwest: the monthly daily average temperature in January is −6.8 °C (19.8 °F), as compared to −3.9 °C (25.0 °F) in downtown Dalian.

Wafangdian is also noted for the Changxing Island Seaport Industrial Area and Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Station.

Wafangdian has 461 kilometres of coastline and the annual aquatic output is over 250,000 tons including sea cucumber, prawn, clam, crab, mullet, Spanish mackerel, jellyfish, scallop, abalone and mantis-shrimp etc.

The following thirteen towns and communes belong to this area: Changxingdao, Jiaoliudao, Donggang, Fuzhouwan, Paotai, Xianyuwan, Yongning, Xiyang, Tuoshan and Santai, etc.

The following towns and communes include this subarea: Yongning, Laohutun, Yandian, and the Subdistricts of Zhuhua, etc.. Wafangdian has rich resources in fruit.

The total output reached over 300,000 tons in 1999, The main fruits are as following: apple, pear, plum, peach, strawchew, apricot, and grape, etc.. Thirteen towns and communes belong to this subarea: Wanjialing, Songshu Tucheng, and Gangdian Subdistrict, etc.. Wafangdian has a beach, sand, scenic spots, and a natural warm spring.