I am flying to Beijing in 10 days on a mileage run. I have 2 scheduled hours in PEK before I get on a return flight. I do not plan to leave the airport. Is it advisable to get a VISA or is this not really necessary?

Simple answer is yes you need a visa. The airline likely won't permit you to fly without one as you cannot take advantage of TWOV.

It is not a case of being advisable, you definitely need a visa for China if you are flying directly to and from PEK to the US. They won't let you board your flight from the US to PEK if you dont have a visa for China. The only way you can void getting a visa is if you are flying from country A into China, and onto country B. They have a concept of transit-without-visa (TWOV).

China 24, 72, and 144 hour Transit Without Visa ("TWOV") rules master thread

Whats' your route?
If you flight is something like LAX-PEK-LAX, then you need a visa.
If it's something like LAX-PEK-ICN-LAX, then you may qualified for TWOV, but I am not sure about that since you probably won't leave ICN either.

It's YYZ-DTW-PEK-DTW-YYZ so yes it sounds like I'm going to need a visa. Since I'm new to all this, do I just follow the standard procedure on the China Embassy website?

Pretty much.

There are services that do the whole process for you fairly quickly but charge a hefty fee. Ended up around $250 for me.

The problem is, the Chinese Embassy/Consulates don't accept mail-in applications. If you can't manage to hand the application in yourself or pester a friend to do it, then you have to pay an agency to do the legwork.

Good thing PRC has a consulate in Toronto, and also operates a visa processing office. Make yourself two passport photos, print out your travel itinerary, and do this right away. There is still time.

added: Just looked at your profile -- If you are a U.S. passport holder living in Michigan, then your assigned consulate for visa processing is in Chicago. Either get there pronto for a day or two, or find a local China visa agent. You don't have much time.

You can also book a fully refundable PEK-SIN ticket (or any other 3rd location ticket outside China and not being DTW) and use that to get on the flight (using the TWOV). Use the ticket to get on the flight to PEK, clear customs, change your mind, etc.

This is an absolutely irresponsible advise. Have you done this yourself? OP can certainly receive TWOV with the PEK-SIN ticket, but how do you suppose OP would be able to check into the return PEK-DTW flight when their TWOV is designated for continuation to SIN? Are you suggesting that OP should toy with Chinese bureaucracy can like you can in liberal democracies? "I change my mind" is not going to sway one single official in the interrogation room. Be prepared to use that PEK-SIN ticket, and be prepared to buy a oneway SIN-YYZ ticket to get back home.

"A foreign citizen who is transiting through China by air is exempted from a visa if he/she will stay only inside the airport (without entering the boder control) for no more than 24 hours and has a valid connecting ticket with confirmed seating on an international flight."

Visa-free Entry into Mainland China

Introduction to Chinese Visa ? Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America (here is the same info on the USA Chinese Embassy website with a list of countries)

So for the OP assuming he can get a boarding pass from a transit desk, mobile boarding pass or get one at the point of origin then no visa is required. Those details are from the Chineses embassy in Australia but I'd guess for most it would be the same. I'd suggest just double checking prior to travel (with your countries Chinese embassy) and having printed copies of the details stating no visa and also your airline tickets.

Henrus, that is not true. You have to be transiting China and that means you are en route to a third country. The OP is returning to the country from where s/he came. That is not transit for these purposes. A visa will be required.

Plus, there are special rules that carve out exceptions to the general TWOV rule, like the special rules for Guangzhou and Urumqi and the limits on Americans transiting at some airports and the ban on TWOV at Shenzhen and a few other places.