Transit through China, changing planes in Beijing & Shanghai. Which visa?

I am flying from Yakutsk, Russia to the USA. The first leg is Yakutsk - Beijing, then change planes/terminals and fly to Shanghai, then to San Francisco. I'll be in PRC for around 10 hours total if the flights are on time. I won't be leaving the airport, but will I need to go through customs and immigration? Will I be issued the 24-hour direct transit in this case? If so, can you give me any information on where to get it in the Beijing airport? My flight lands at 4:00 a.m. and on previous trips (when I had only one stop), the desk issuing the transit permits was closed until later. I'm worried about missing my connecting flight. Can I go through the regular immigration lanes?