Do I need a visa for my itinerary?

Amadeo, we miss several details to be able to answer you in the proper way:

1. From where will you arrive in Shanghai and does your flight has some additional landings within mainland China beside Shanghai?
2. Does your cruise Shanghai - South Korea - Tianjin has some additional port calls in mainland China?
3. What is the first port call of your cruise after you leave Tianjin?

Just look at your entire itinerary, give us the missing data and you will receive precise answer to your question.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Please find the answers below.


1. From where will you arrive in Shanghai and does your flight has some additional landings within mainland China beside Shanghai? Direct flight from London to Shangai
2. Does your cruise Shanghai - South Korea - Tianjin has some additional port calls in mainland China? No, it does not.
3. What is the first port call of your cruise after you leave Tianjin? Seul, South Korea.

Thanks again.

This examples shows how important it is for posters here to include all the relevant parts of their itinerary. You are travelling Korea-China-Korea, which requires a visa.

Of course, as Saul has said, you need a visa, but a single entry because your first part in China is eligible for 144 hour visa free transit. Anyway, you should be focused during your first arrival and inform the authorities that you will use 144 hour visa free transit and spare your single entry for your arrival in Beijing.