Notice: This thread pertains strictly to visa free transit.
China (the PRC) has several programs that permit travelers with most passports to transit in China without the need to obtain a visa for periods of 24, 72, or 144 hours. These policies are commonly referred to as "transit without visa", "TWOV", or "visa free transit". They have almost completely replaced transit visas, but technically aren't visas.

This thread is functionally the same as its archived predecessor:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chin...er-thread.html

What's more, the information contained in the wikipost of the previous thread is still (as of 2024) reasonably accurate. However, since that wikipost had evolved into a long and tedious read, we decided to start anew.

Following are summaries of some of the key points:

1. "transit", in the case of all TWOV policies, requires entering and exiting China directly from different countries. For example, USA-China-Japan is okay, while Japan-China-Japan is not, even if you don't actually enter Japan in either direction (i.e. LAX-TYO-SHA is regarded as TYO-SHA).

2. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau are functionally regarded as separate entities for the sake of TWOV, mean routings such as Hong Kong - Shanghai - Macau are permitted.

3. 24-hour TWOV applies to most combinations of conceivable ports of entries/exits, whereas 72 and 144 TWOV is restricted to travel within specific zones (e.g. if you enter China via Shanghai, you are required to remain within the boundaries of Shanghai/Jiangsu/Zhejiang during your stay and must exit from an approved checkpoint within the same area).

4. Your first port of entry in China establishes your zone, and this is the case even for flights that make intermediate stops within China (e.g. CA154 HIJ-PEK stops in DLC, so if you want 144 TVOW, you need to terminate in Dalian and remain within Liaoning Province, and if terminate in Beijing, you'll need to depart China within 24 hours of your arrival in DLC).

5. Visitors to this thread are welcome to provide specific itineraries for us to comment on here, but we encourage you to query TIMATIC (there are numerous free TIMATIC interfaces available on the internet, some better than others) for your specific case first because approved ports change from time to time and there are some variances based on passport/citizenship.

6. In order to avail of TWOV, you should be prepared to demonstrate compliance with both your inbound transportation provider (almost certainly an airline) and at the arrival border checkpoint. Proof of onward travel within the applicable time frame (i.e. 24, 72, or 144 hours) is essential, so even if your plan is to walk across an approved land border upon exit, you may well be denied boarding if you fail to produce a confirmed onward plane/boat/bus ticket.

7. Proof of accommodation in China is not technically required, BUT reserving a hotel room, for at least the first night, is advisable because doing so preempts "where are you staying?" conversations and staying in a hotel will ensure compliance with the "all foreigners must register with a PSB within 24/72 hours" rule.

8. In some cases (e.g. daytime layovers within the same terminal facility), applicants for 24-hour TWOV might be permitted to transit, but denied permits to enter the country. There are a number of ways to minimize (or completely eliminate) the odds of being denied an entry permit.