Lying in central Zhejiang Province, Jinhua is adjacent to Taizhou to the east, Lishui to the south, Quzhou to the southwest, Shaoxing to the northeast and the provincial capital, Hangzhou, to the northwest. China Commodity City,,the largest commodity market in China,,is located in Yiwu, a county-level city of Jinhua.

Jinhua is a transport hub in Zhejiang Province. The Jinhua-Wenzhou Railway and the Jinhua-Jiande Railway start from the city, while the Zhegan (Zhejiang-Jiangxi) Railway, State Highway 330 and the Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou Highway run across the city. The Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport and the Yiwu Airport are within 1 hour’s drive from Jinhua’s city center. Ningbo-houshan Port, the second largest port in mainland China in terms of container throughput in 2007, is 3 hours’ drive from Jinhua.

Jinhua enjoys a subtropical monsoon climate, with warm, moist weather and four distinct seasons. The camellia, which usually blossoms between January and March, is the city’s official flower. The official tree is the camphor tree, whose leaves have a glossy, waxy appearance.