My MU recommendation for him has more to do with the fact that the connection itself should be significantly faster than any that require a terminal change (possibly doable without even going out to the departures lobby, in fact), but them having multiple flights is also a bonus.

Ah, so if you're in no hurry to get to Japan, this would definitely be a great way to see Shanghai.
The TWOV that has been mentioned is specifically setup for travelers who are transiting China from one country to another. It doesn't require a visa at all, and is processed at the airport after arrival.
All you need to show is an onward ticket that leaves China within 144 hours of arrival (and hotel reservations).
We have a whole thread on it here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chin...4-onwards.html

a while back i read of issues getting visa, or even with a visa denied entry, for those that have visited Turkiye, Is that still an issue, or it was never true to begin with?

i had a turkey stamp on my passport last time i entered china a few months ago with a tourist visa. wasn't an issue, I don't think they looked thoroughly

The OP was inquiring about having Turkey stamps when applying for visas. I gather that some consulates are sensitive about this (maybe an overstated issue, to be sure) while others are not.

it's a big issue for me if i get denied visa or denied entry.. does this mean for the foreseeable future i'll have to cross off turkiye from the list of places I was hoping to visit?

Given that many people with Turkish stamps in their passports (or Turkish passports) enter China on a daily basis, why do you assume that you have to cross Turkey off your list?

I think this was only ever a problem for the visa-free transit program, where Chinese border control has a lot of discretion (perhaps too much) to grant or deny entry.

I don't think the Chinese consulates that issue visas care about Turkish entry stamps. And once you have a Chinese visa, Chinese border control staff won't be able to deny you entry based on Turkish entry stamps either.

While I agree with most of this, if your visa application is on the cusp on approval/rejection because you have a strike or two against you (e.g. previous overstays, political activist, criminal record, affiliation with separatist groups), it's not hard to envision a travel history that includes Turkey being the straw that breaks the camel's back.

It's simply not true that border control can't deny you entry because of a Turkey stamp or any other issue.

Not to say they will, but the authority is certainly there.

Is there a cutoff period for how long a COVA application is valid until submission at a consulate? I finished mine on Jan 12 and won't be able to submit in person until Feb 26. Will they consider the printed version invalid? Do I need to prepare a new COVA?

I ended up just doing a new COVA. Will update next week based on my experience at the consulate.

Visa Datapoint: Approved for 10-year multiple-entry L visa with each entry valid at 90 days (I had put 60 on the application) - US citizen applied in-person at Washington DC visa office - applied on Monday, picked up on Thursday despite not selecting expedited processing - no appointments needed - I did have a Turkish stamp - overall processing and wait times on site were not significant

Wow, 90 days is crazy. I got 60 days in April 2023. You should be able to apply for a drivers license with that (requires 90 days, which is usually out of range for tourist visa)

Something tells me I will be avoiding driving, but that's good to know ;-)

I was surprised at 90, as well.