Shanghai lies in the east of China.
请问为什么倒装变成 East of China lies Shanghai. 而不是 In the east of China lies Shanghai.
说成 In the east of China lies Shanghai. 也完全可以的。
只是碰巧这里的 east 可以用副词,所以才可以说成 East of China lies Shanghai.
其他情况下是不能这样处理的。比如:
The factory lies on the other side of the river.
可以改为:On the other side of the river lies the factory.
不能改为:Other side of the river lies the factory.