24 Hour Transit Visa - Need a booked Hotel in China?

Gayle, this is not a transit visa, but 24 hour visa free transit, so there is no visa of any kind. If your total transit time in Shanghai is shorter than 24 hours, based on your scheduled arrival and departures, you will be eligible for 24 hour visa free transit automatically and you will stay in the transit zone of Shanghai airport. However, if you want to exit the airport in case of a long layover, the first thing you will do upon landing is to approach 24/240 hour visa free transit where you will apply for a temporary entry permit by presenting your flight tickets and your hotel booking. If your layover is mostly during the day, you will not book a hotel, but if it is during the night, of course you will. In any case, a temporary entry permit is not a passenger's right, but a bonus that is offered by the Chinese authorities on case by case basis. In other words, if your layover is very long and especially if it is during the night, your chances to be granted one are really very good. However, if your layover is up to 8 hours long, you should not even try to obtain one because it will not be granted. In any case, under the assumption that you have a bit longer layover, I wish you luck to be granted a permit and not to stay all the time in the transit zone of Shanghai airport.