Apply A Visa or Not
General foreigners have to apply a China visa before entering China. (Travelers to Hong Kong or Macau are required to apply for a Hong Kong Visa or a Macau Visa.) Only in the following circumstances, the China visa is not demanded:

1. citizens holding a passport of countries that reach the protocol of Mutual Visa Exemption between China and Foreign Countries with China. But note that their stay in China should not exceed 30 days.
2. citizens holding a common passport of Singapore, Brunei or Japan come to China for travel, business, visiting family and relatives or transit for no more than 15 days. Those holding a diplomatic passport or a service passport, or aiming to study, work, reside or interview in China are excluded.
3. tourists holding a common passport of countries that have established diplomatic relationship with China, packaged by Hong Kong or Macau's legal travel companies, come to the Pearl River Delta area in Guangdong Province from Hong Kong or Macau, and stay there for no more than 6 days. The delta areas relate to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou and Shantou.
4. travelers holding an air ticket for more than one destination and having booked the further seat on an international flight, transit from China and stay within the airport for no more than 24 hours.
5. citizens holding a passport of the following countries transit in Shanghai for no more than 48 hours: South Korea, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy and other countries involved in the Schengen Protocol.
6. citizens holding a common passport of the following countries, travel in Hainan Province for no more than 15 days under the group of a legal international travel agency there: Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Germany, British, France, Austria, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Holland, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
7. citizens in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan with valid certificates.

Visa Types
Chinese visa organizations decide which kind of visa to issue to foreigners according to their status, aims for visiting China and their passport categories. Types of China Visa include diplomatic visa, courteous visa, service visa and common visa. Foreigners to Hong Kong and Macau should apply Hong Kong Visa or Macau Visa instead of the mentioned visas. The common visa consists of eight categories represented by the first letter of their Chinese Pinyin:

1. Tourist Visa (L Visa): for foreigners coming to China for tour, visiting family or other private affairs.
2. Residence Visa (D Visa): for foreigners coming to reside in China.
3. Visit Visa/Business Visa (F Visa): for foreigners invited to China for visit, research, lecture, business, scientific and cultural exchange, short training or practice for no more than 6 months. 
4. Transit Visa (G Visa): for foreigners transiting China to another third country.
5. Study/Student Visa (X Visa): for foreigners coming to China for study, training or practice for more than 6 months.
6. Work Visa (Z Visa): for foreigners coming to China for work, and their accompanying families, along with those for commercial performances.
7. Journalist Visa (J Visa): for foreign journalists. It can be further divided into two: J-1 (for resident journalists) and J-2 (for temporary journalists).
8. Crew Visa (C Visa): for crew members of airplanes, trains or ships and their accompanying families.