authorized for 144 hour visa free

Unfortunately, your itinerary is not eligible for any kind of visa free transit because both of your immediate points, before and after Beijing are in the same country - South Korea. It is important to know that only the immediate points matter. Simply, speaking, you have to have two immediate points, before and after a mainland Chinese destination, in two different countries.

Maybe you could think to alter your itinerary and to have something like this:

South Korea - Japan - Beijing - South Korea - US

That would be an eligible itinerary for 144 hour visa free transit.

This works. You are flying from South Korea to Beijing. Then from Bejing to San Francisco. Your origination country and onward destination country are completely separate. It doesn't matter that you coincidentally stopover in South Korea on your way out, as that's not your destination. China border control just wants to see you have a ticket out of their country within 144 hours.

Frosti, please, do not spread misleading information. You are pointing Richard in wrong direction. You have to be aware of the basic rules of any type of visa free transit scheme and one of the most important is that you cannot have immediate points before and after China in the same country regardless of their nature. So, this itinerary is not eligible for any kind of visa free transit.

Again, please, have in mind, immediate points, regardless of their type or nature, before and after the mainland Chinese destination have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories: Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). I hope you will not proceed to spread this inaccurate information elsewhere.

thank you for all your input - I have decided to alter - I will enter Beijing from Seoul - and depart within the 144 hour allowance from Beijing direct non stop to San Francisco. thanks to all who gave me feed-back.. kindly.. Richard

Good decision!