Originally Posted by SFOFastAir

Here is what UA's version of TIMATIC has to say on 3 Jan 2013

From Timatic T*NEWS/N1
TIMATIC-3 / 04JAN13 / 0352 UTC
CURRENT NEWS (N1)

CHINA (PEOPLES REP.): 72-HOUR VISA-FREE TRANSIT AT BEIJING
AND SHANGHAI
EFFECTIVE FROM 1 JANUARY 2013 NATIONALS OF 45 COUNTRIES
TRANSITING THROUGH BEIJING (PEK) AND SHANGHAI (PVG AND SHA) TO
A THIRD COUNTRY AND HOLDING CONFIRMED ONWARD TICKETS WILL BE
PERMITTED TO ENTER CHINA (PEOPLES REP.) WITHOUT A VISA FOR
MAX. 72 HOURS. PASSENGERS MUST ARRIVE IN AND DEPART FROM THE
SAME CITY. THIS FACILITY WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR NATIONALS OF
ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA BELGIUM BRAZIL BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM BULGARIA CANADA CHILE CYPRUS CZECH REP.
DENMARK ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE HUNGARY
ICELAND IRELAND (REP.) ITALY JAPAN KOREA (REP.) LATVIA
LITHUANIA LUXEMBOURG MALTA MEXICO NETHERLANDS NEW
ZEALAND POLAND PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RUSSIAN FED.
SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND
USA UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND HOLDERS OF BRITISH
CITIZEN PASSPORTS.

TEXT DISPLAY COMPLETE

From Timatic (T*DFT/PEK/VI) in the TWOV section

- NATIONALS OF ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA BELGIUM BRAZIL
BULGARIA CANADA CHILE CYPRUS CZECH REP. DENMARK
ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GERMANY GREECE HUNGARY ICELAND
IRELAND (REP.) ITALY KOREA (REP.) LATVIA LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG MALTA MEXICO NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND POLAND
PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RUSSIAN FED. SLOVAKIA SLOVENIA
SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND USA UKRAINE AND UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES HOLDING CONFIRMED ONWARD TICKETS FOR A MAX. TRANSIT
>T*RULES/R32 TIME OF 72 HOURS AT BEIJING (PEK) SHANGHAI
HONGQIAO (SHA) OR SHANGHAI PUDONG (PVG) PROVIDED ARRIVING
IN AND DEPARTING FROM THE SAME CITY.

- ALL TRANSITING PASSENGERS ARE SUBJECT TO A CHECK BY
IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS.

- LEAVING THE TRANSIT AREA IS ALLOWED. (SEE NOTE 43501) (SEE
NOTE 43503)
NOTE 43501: NOT APPLICABLE TO HOLDERS OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
(OTHER THAN PASSPORTS) ISSUED BY HONG KONG (SAR CHINA) AND
MACAO (SAR CHINA).
NOTE 43503: NOT APPLICABLE TO HOLDERS OF BRITISH PASSPORTS
ENDORSED BRITISH NATIONAL (OVERSEAS) WHO ARE REQUIRED TO
HOLD A RETURNING RESIDENT PERMIT TOGETHER WITH THEIR HONG
KONG ID.

- HOLDERS OF BRITISH PASSPORTS ENDORSED BRITISH CITIZEN
HOLDING CONFIRMED ONWARD TICKETS FOR A MAX. TRANSIT
>T*RULES/R32 TIME OF 72 HOURS AT BEIJING (PEK) SHANGHAI
HONGQIAO (SHA) OR SHANGHAI PUDONG (PVG) PROVIDED ARRIVING
IN AND DEPARTING FROM THE SAME CITY.