China offers 144-hour (6-day) visa-free transit in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze Delta, Pearl River Delta and Chengdu-Chongqing regions, plus 24/72-hour waivers at selected ports. You need a foreign passport, an onward ticket to a third country/region, entry at a designated port, and activities limited to the permitted region.
How to use it: confirm your nationality is eligible; book an itinerary of third country ↔ China ↔ third country (e.g. London–Beijing–Tokyo); tell the border officer you are transiting and show your onward ticket and hotel bookings; receive the temporary entry permit and stay within the designated region; exit from an approved port on time.
Common mistakes: assuming you can travel anywhere in China (region-limited), that the stay can be extended (it cannot, nor converted to another visa), or that you must apply in advance (it is granted on arrival, only if you fully qualify).
