It's probably semantics... but upon arrival my passport was stamped with a "temporary entry permit" to stay in China until the next day. In my words that's a visa on arrival for 24 hrs.....

And really, a 5hr connection is not enough time do do anything meaningful. It takes at least 30-60 minutes to go though immigration (where they need to find your name on a paper listing and they cannot seem to read non-Chinese characters) and then pick up your luggage. And since you cannot check-in at that time you would need to store your luggage somewhere too. And you would still need to check-in when getting back, which also takes time.

So it might sound like a great idea to go out, in reality most would prefer a connection that is a bit longer to do any sightseeing.
They simply should improve the airport a bit for those connecting, that's why I probably won't be flying them anytime soon.