I dont know if could help or advice your looking for, but I went over to China this past summer and worked in a hospital in Beijing. Im assuming it would be similar to a hospital in Shanghai. The doctors are really friendly and open especially when a foreigner that speaks english comes over. Anytime they had something special, they'd run over to me to show me. Even on the last week I was there, the doctors took me and my friend who was also working there in the summer to a kareoke bar and got trashed (mainly they MADE me get smashed), but that goes to show you the hospitality they have towards foreign students.
As for Shanghai, the city is really nice. Even saw a car/motorcycle chase like straight from the movies. Make sure you know where you are going. Taxi drivers drive like crazy, and some of the taxi drivers at the airport try to rip-off foreigners by charging them twice or three times the actual rate. Police over there usually don't do much, unless you show them you're a foreigner (ie. dont get into any bar fights, cause the police wait until you're beaten). As for beggars, they'll use kids to beg for money and will often (at night) follow you a couple of blocks.
Thats all I can think of right now, but if you have any more specific questions, just post them up here, and I'll try to answer them for you. Hope that helps a bit 🙂