Originally Posted by
fjord
Are you a US citizen?
Yes, I'm a US citizen, and I've visited Shanghai before.
According to some, a stay up to 48 hours in Shanghai is OK if you have a ticket and visa for your next destination. Since my next destination after Shanghai is likely to be Hong Kong, I'm not sure how that will work.
Other possible stopovers include Viet Nam (visa reportedly needed), Laos (get visa at border), Singapore and Malaysa (no visa needed), and India (visa needed).
I don't know how important it is to have the exact arrival and departure dates for the visa-required nations.