Originally Posted by
mrcimino1
Regarding the visa for visits to Mainland China (PRC) I believe you must have it in advance, prior to boarding a flight to there. No visa = denied boarding! Someone can correct me if I am wrong on this. Chinese visas can be obtained at land border crossings, but it helps to be fluent in Mandarin, and even then they can still take some time. HKG is going to be a much easier destination than PEK.
I believe the border visas may only be for day visits, or something along those lines. I went to Guangzhou for a short visit (3 days) and was told to do all visa stuff in advance by friends in Macau. We did do a border visa when just crossing into China for the day. A travel agent in Hong Kong or Macau may be able to do a visa for you in about 24 hours, though- that's how I got mine.