Does this literary qualify

Jeffrey, the sequence of stops within the itinerary is not essential in the context of the itinerary eligibility, but it is the golden rule that clearly says that the immediate points before and after your mainland China visit have to be in two different countries or eligible territories (eligible territories are Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau). Your itinerary looks good, but I have one huge doubt and that is the fact that there is no direct (nonstop) flight between Beijing and Atlanta. In other words, I am afraid that you maybe plan to travel to Atlanta via Seoul and that would make your itinerary ineligible. So, please, double check your itinerary and stick to the golden rule of the immediate points in two different countries or eligible territories. Thank you.

Borut, Thanks for the reply. I was afraid of that, so we reversed the travel and this is our new itinerary.
Atlanta to Shanghai
Shanghai to Beijing (train)
Beijing to Seoul
Seoul to Atlanta

It looks like this meets the requirements but can you confirm? Thanks

Jeffrey, but there are no direct flights between Atlanta and Shanghai, so I am afraid that you are still trying to use an itinerary that will have two landings in Seoul: Atlanta - Seoul - Shanghai - Beijing - Seoul - Atlanta. It is important to understand that the immediate points before and after mainland China have to be in two different countries or eligible territories. If your both immediate points are in just one country, South Korea for example, the itinerary is not eligible. You really have to create an itinerary that will look something like this, for example: Atlanta - San Francisco - Shanghai - Beijing - Seoul - Atlanta. Like this you would have immediate points in two countries, US and South Korea and that would be eligible. Please, just take some time and try to create an itinerary that will be within the rule of the immediate points. I hope I will be able to read tomorrow about your really eligible route, so that you can start your preparations for your visit to China.

My apologies for not clarifying the outbound route. I do have a layover in Detroit. My itinerary is Atlanta - Detroit - Shanghai - Beijing - Seoul - Atlanta. It looks similar to the example you provided so I'm hoping this will work. Thanks again.