I pretty much have no excuse as I am a short and cheap flight away in Tokyo...might be hard to get a couple weekdays off, but the weekend component should be no problem...

Attendance: Probable
Date Choice: The October 7-10 weekend would be ideal as the 10th is a holiday in Japan
# of attendees: 1
Hotel Preference: Hilton
Other Suggested activities: Having Xiao Long Bao as it is a Shanghai specialty as compared to Dim Sum which is from Hong Kong. I'd also suggest taking the Maglev train instead of a car/van from the airport (greener/faster/more fun!), and somehow working in hanging in the Bund into the equation somewhere (good night life). And of course, would love to visit China Eastern/Shanghai Airlines.

Keep up the good work!