Our MU flights were great, cannot think of any EU airline that would have been better in Economy. And I've come to sincerely value long layovers on our journeys from London to Tokyo, we have found them to be very effective at drastically reducing jet lag (I cannot over stress how important this is when staying on futons in your father-in-law's main living room - which is also his dining room and office).
And as moondog said, Shanghai is cheap enough. We had 12 hours there last year and had a delightful visit.
(I had the option to fly with Alitalia for slightly cheaper and on a quicker route than our upcoming CA flights via Chengdu; didn't take them.)