Originally Posted by moondog
I firmly believe that BJ is a better place (even discounting for the fact that there is much more to do/see there), so I suggest you weight your China trip(s) in that direction.
I think your view is certainly the majority one. I personally don't plan to spend much time in Shanghai. Frankly, I might not have bothered to see it at all except that we want to go to nearby Hangzhou and Suzhou. So once we're in the area, it seems worthwhile to stop in Shanghai, even if for no other reason than to try to understand modern China.