Originally Posted by tauphi

You can certainly get an RP with a Q2 in Shanghai. You're right that the Q2 visa will be cancelled once you receive your RP (just like a Q1 visa would be). Q1 (and other visas like it, such as the S1) is basically a scam made up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that they can impose some form of oversight over the Ministry of Public Security (who actually runs the border control as well as the entry-exit bureaus in China). Of course the MPS don't give a toss so they'll happily accept a Q2/S2.