Where is your 144-hour travel if your layover is in a Chinese City?

Are Chinese layover cities allowed under the 144 scheme, or are only direct flights into China allowed?

For instance if I want to fly into Guangzhou, but there is a layover in Shanghai before I arrive in Guangzhou, does this mean the 144 hour TWOV only applies to Shanghai, and I would not be able to do the the 144 hours in Guangzhou (my intended destination)?