AN ACR CREW APCHING ZSPD WAS CLRED FOR A VOR/DME 35 APCH BUT VECTORED BELOW INITIAL APCH ALT. ACFT DESCENDED EARLY AND MISSED THE STEP DOWN FIX ALT.

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ARR TO ZSPD VIA STAR AND THEN RADAR VECTORS TO FINAL APCH. WE EXPECTED THE ILS TO RWY 35 BUT ATIS ADVISED TO EXPECT VOR DME RWY 35 APCH. WE LOADED THE VOR APCH INTO THE SECONDARY FLT PLAN IN THE FMS; STILL EXPECTING THE ILS SINCE IT WAS NOT NOTAMED OUT OR RPTED OUT ON ATIS. APCH CTL VECTORED US OFF OF THE STAR AND WHEN ON AN INTERCEPT VECTOR INSTRUCTED US TO INTERCEPT THE VOR DME RWY 35 FINAL APCH COURSE. WE WERE BEING VECTORED AT 600 METERS (ABOUT 1800 FT) MSL (ASSIGNED BY APCH CTL). THE CHARTED FAF ALT ON THE VOR DME RWY 35 APCH WAS 900 METERS (ABOUT 3000 FT). BEING CLRED FOR THE NON PRECISION APCH FROM AN ALT THAT WAS BELOW THE CHARTED ALT RENDERED OUR FMS APCH PROC UNUSABLE AND REQUIRED MANUALLY FLYING THIS APCH WITH UNUSUAL DSCNT RATES AND NON STANDARD PROCS. UPON REACHING THE FAF I STARTED A NORMAL DSCNT BUT SHORTLY THEREAFTER SHALLOWED OUT THE VVI DUE TO STARTING AT A LOWER ALT AT THE FAF. AT 1000 FT AGL; MY FO CALLED 'STABLE' PER OUR PROCS AS WE DSNDED DOWN TO MINIMUMS AT 470 FT MSL AT 400-500 FPM. JUST INSIDE 5 MI TO TOUCHDOWN; THE TWR MADE A COMMENT ABOUT OUR 'MINIMUM' ALT BUT SINCE WE WERE STILL 300-400 FT ABOVE MINIMUMS WE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY MEANT. WE LEVELED OFF ABOUT 500-600 FT MSL AND FOLLOWED THE PAPI DOWN TO A NORMAL LNDG. WE LATER DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS A STEPDOWN FIX ON THE FINAL APCH THAT WE DID NOT HONOR. THE FIX WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CROSSED AT 1610 FT; WE CROSSED IT AT ABOUT 1200 FT. THE FIX WAS ON THE VOR DME RWY 35 CHART BUT I DIDN'T NOTICE IT AND DIDN'T FLY THE AIRPLANE IN A WAY TO COMPLY WITH IT. IF WE HAD BEEN VECTORED IN AT THE PROPER ALT FOR THE VOR APCH; THE PROCS I USED WOULD HAVE COMPLIED WITH THE XING ALT; OR WE COULD HAVE USED THE FMS TO FLY AN RNAV APCH USING VERT NAV WHICH WOULD HAVE ALSO COMPLIED WITH THE ALT RESTR. SHANGHAI APCH CTL SHOULD NEVER CLR AN AIRPLANE FOR A NON PRECISION APCH AT A RANDOM ALT BELOW THAT CHARTED FOR THE APCH. THIS ARPT IS KNOWN FOR ASSIGNING SEVERAL DIFFERENT ALTS WHEN VECTORING AIRPLANES FOR ILS APCHS BUT THIS IS ACCEPTABLE BECAUSE THE AIRPLANE CAN INTERCEPT THE ELECTRONIC GS FROM ANY ALT. A NON PRECISION APCH; HOWEVER; MUST BEGIN AT THE FAF CHARTED ALT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 759051: FMS DATABASE OUT OF DATE; ACFT RELEASED BY MEL WITH CONSEQUENCES TO CREW OF HAVING TO XCHK AND VERIFY GND BASED NAVAIDS AND DISTANCE ON STAR AND IAP. NORMAL PROCS CALL FOR THE USE OF VERT AND LATERAL NAV BY FMS WITH AUTOPLT. MANUAL VOR LATERAL NAV AND MANUAL V/S THROUGH THE FCP WERE USED FOR THE APCH WHEREAS NAV AND PROF THROUGH THE FMS WERE INITIALLY BRIEFED. PF STARTED DSCNT TO STEPDOWN ALT OF 1610 FT AT PRIOR TO MDA OF 470 FT. DSCNT GRADIENT WAS TOO GREAT AND BEFORE CORRECTION THE ACFT DSNDED BELOW THE STEPDOWN FIX ALT. AS CREW WAS CORRECTING PUDONG TWR ADVISED CREW THAT THEY WERE BELOW APCH ALT. AT THAT POINT ACFT WAS INSIDE STEPDOWN FIX ALT AND CONTINUED DSCNT TO MDA AND SUBSEQUENT LNDG ACCOMPLISHED UNEVENTFULLY. NOTHING FURTHER WAS RECEIVED FROM PUDONG CONCERNING THIS. CREW BEING UNSURE OF TYPE OF APCH THEY WOULD RECEIVE CAUSED LESS THAN THOROUGH APCH BRIEF. DEV FROM BRIEF ONCE IN THE APCH ENVIRONMENT WAS NOT CLARIFIED WELL ENOUGH AND REBRIEF MISSED CHANGE IN METHOD OF LATERAL AND VERT NAV. BOTH PF AND PM DIDN'T XCHK APCH PLATES WELL ENOUGH. CREW ALSO ASSUMED AN EVENTUAL VISUAL CLRNC BECAUSE OF THE WX CONDITIONS AND PRIOR CLRNCS OF PRECEDING ACFT.