Confirming I apply for the transit visa at the airport upon arrival

Based on your presentations, you are obviously plan to fly:

Australia - Shanghai - Paris

Under the assumption that you do not have any additional landing within mainland China, then your itinerary is definitely and undeniably eligible for 144 hour visa free transit and you do not need any kind of visa.

The misunderstanding between you are your booking agent has arisen from the fact that you are using wrong wording. In reality, you will not apply for any kind of visa upon your landing in Shanghai, but just for a temporary entry permit based on 144 hour visa free transit. Your agent probably thought that you plan to obtain some kind of visa, but indeed, there is no visa. There is just that tiny confirmation that the Chinese authorities will give you in order to be allowed to exit the airport and to enjoy your time in Shanghai on your own. To conclude, you are eligible for 144 hour visa free transit and, please, just use correct terminology to avoid any possible misunderstanding.

Also, you are definitely allowed to travel to Zhujiajiao because when traveling on 144 hour visa free transit you are allowed to travel to the area covered by Shanghai city and also to the areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

Thanks so much! My agent actually said I’d need to apply for a visa before I left, even for a 48 stay. So they just don’t seem to be well-informed. Xie xie :)