Land tour plus cruise - which visa (s)

We are flying into Beijing and doing a 6 day guided tour encompassing Beijing, Xian (transfer by fast train) and Shanghai. On day 7 we depart on a cruise to Japan, returning to Shanghai 6 days later at 7:00 am. We fly out of Shangahai airport that same day at 7:30 pm. What type(s) do we need, - for example, on the final day, can we use a 24 hour direct transit, and say, a single entry visa for the first (land tour) part?