Been in China for 3 weeks now. First time. Visited Shanghai, Xi'an, Beijing and Changchun. My thoughts:
Expo is insanely boring. I would describe it as a total waste of time, but if you do go, I'd suggest you get there very early (like 7-8AM) so you can get a ticket to get into the China pavilion. Then head to the UK pavilion while you wait, then pick up tickets at the Cultural pavilion to see the afternoon show, then go to the China pavilion with your ticket, then see the afternoon show at the Cultural pavilion, then get the hell out of there. There's way better stuff to do in Shanghai: check out Pudong, the artisan district, some of the city's well used parks (particularly the one next to the stadium), and the abundant nightlife.
In Beijing, the walking route of Tienanmen Square to the Forbidden City, the hutongs, the Lotus Market, and Prince Gong's mansion is all doable in a day if you're fit and full of energy. There's also the great wall (heavily touristed), summer palace (even more heavily touristed), and the Temple of Heaven (quite nice really, but also lots of tourists). You'll probably just enjoy hanging out and watching the world go by as much as anything, but if you want to see the sights, spend at least 4 days in Beijing.
In Xi'an, the terracotta warriors are a must see tourist experience. But I strongly suggest you rent a bicycle and cycle the city wall early in the morning (it opens at 8:30 AM and it takes about 80 minutes to circumnavigate the city at a leisurely pace, and only costs 20-30 Renminbi, about 3-4 bucks).
My brother's been in China for ages, living in Shanghai for most of that time, and may have more suggestions. I'll ask for his input tomorrow.
Hope that's of some help!
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