A China visa is an authorization for travel in China which is placed in your passport if you are coming for a tour in China. It is permission which is issued by the Chinese consulate or Embassies allowing the passport holder to enter the China legally.
The person who are traveling to China either for pleasure or business purpose require visa. It is necessary that your passport is valid for six months after the duration of your stay in China. It is not easy to get the visa at the entry point of Chinese border so, you should get your visa approved before your trip.
As far as validity of the visas is concerned, it depends. Single entry China visas are usually valid for about three months after the issue days and the permitted days to stay in China is for maximum 30 days. The visa allows you to travel as a tourist or conduct any activity of business. Most of the people need to apply for the single entry. You might require having double or multiple entry visas if you are travelling frequently between China and Hong Kong or Taiwan on the same tour.
For getting a visa, you need to have an original passport which has at least six month validity from the travel date with minimum one blank visa page. For each passport, one completed and signed visa application along with the fee and supporting documents are required.
You can apply for the visa about one to two months before the tentative date of travel. When you have items ready you can submit the visa application at the offices of China embassy or consulate-general of your country. You can also take the help of travel or visa agency for handling your visa application and get your visa approved in appropriate time and manner.
However, there are some visa exemptions. Tourist holding the ordinary passports of Brunei, Singapore and Japan are allowed to enter the china for up to 15 days without any visa. The purpose for travel can be family, tourism or friends visits. There are some more exemptions for which you can get the information from the Chinese Embassy. You can also extend your visa up to 7 days before the expiration of your Visa.