I have a British PAssport, my husband has an Italian Passport; we live in Switzerland

IF you live in Switzerland, you both can apply visa there with valid residence permit or visa. If you plan to visit Shanghai in September, you can submit application in late July or August.

Thank you Abina for the quick response to my question. I have some more questions for you.
Q1. Do we need to personally go to the Chinese embassy/consulate in Bern with our application for the visa; or can we send our request by post?

Q2. We want to arrange our travel flights and accommodation by ourselves via the internet. Do we need to buy our plane ticket with the airline before making the application?

Q3. Can we make a reservation with a hotel in SHanghai on line and will it quality with our application?

Q4. You have informed us that our visa application can be made to the chinese embassy/ consulate in Bern as we live in Switzerland. But I do not speak or read German; my french is very poor. Can I download an application in english and present that with the chinese embassy in Bern?

Q1, you may need to visit in person and submit your application to the embassy in Bern. Mail application is not accepted. But if you can not visit in person, you can entrust others or an agency to handle this on your behalf.
Q2, Hotel reservation and flight ticket are required when submit application for visa. So you need to book them in advance.
Q3, Yes, book online is ok, you can provide proof like reservation print-out for application.
Q4, The application form should always be filled with capital English letters. So, don't worry.