Thanks, that's good to know.

Any idea whether applying for a M (Business) visa directly in HK is possible/fast these days?
In the past I always did it at my local consulate, but these days they say that it will take "weeks", and I can't let go of my passport for that long.

Don't confuse "visa on arrival" (which is indeed hard to arrange) with the five-day Shenzhen-only visit pass (which reportedly is available again).

Looks like I won't be able to accompany my dad to China. In which case, he won't be able to go either since he needs assistance to move. I guess he'll have to wait for China to further relax its entry rules.

This is not the case if you are applying in the USA. All Chinese missions in the USA have reverted to pre-pandemic policies on most visas including the Q2 category. That means there are no restrictions on who is eligible.

Canada on the other hand is officially still applying the pandemic policy on visas. However, some consulates in Canada (Toronto in particular) have already relaxed Q2 requirements on par with the USA.

I suggest that you check with the consulate that you are actually applying with. The policy on Q2 visas are not currently uniform. In most countries they have reverted to pre-pandemic policy, but a few are still going along with pandemic restrictions (Canada in particular).

What does this mean in specific? You can get your friend to invite you on a Q2?

I have already inquired with a travel agency, and was told there are no guarantees on being granted visa even if theres an invitation from a China relative.

My understanding:

For Q2 you need a relative to invite you since it's a family visit visa. For Q1 it must be from a closer relative.

A family member applied and received 10-year Q2 visa. The fee was $140.

Old 10-year visa on the passport (still valid for 5 years at the time of application) was canceled.

There are long lines outside of SFO Consulate. They only process 150 applications per day. Normal processing time for Q2 is 10 days.

However, for humanitarian reasons (such as some immediate family member passed away or in critical condition in China), Q2 visas can be granted in 3 days with a fee.

The only requirement is that it has to be a relative. As was the case before 2019, there is no definition on exactly what this entails. There is also no requirement to provide proof that the said person is related to you in the way that they have claimed.

Yes you are quite right.

To add to what you've said, Q2 does not specify a list of what relatives are eligible, nor does it require any proof of how you are related to the inviter.

Q1 (and S2) on the other hand requires documentary proof, as well as restricting the list of relatives to the listed categories:

"Family members" refers to spouses, parents, sons, daughters, spouses of sons or daughters, brothers,sisters,grandparents,grandsons, granddaug hters and parents-in-law.

Notice on the Reopening of the Visa Office & Visa Application Requirements

I saw a VISA ON ARRIVAL counter at PVG.
There were some people lined up for it. Didn't know that was a thing in Shanghai?

https://gaj.sh.gov.cn/crj/qyfw/ka/gq

Companies may apply for VOA in advance for business purposes.
Individuals may apply for VOA for humanitarian reasons, domestic helpers or to study in K-12.

Report from returning to China from USA (AA127) on February 23rd:

I used the Rapit-NAAT test from Walgreens (free if you have literally any precondition or have sneezed in the last 3 weeks, and the results come back in 2 hours) and it worked fine. It was only checked at the check-in desk in DFW, no one else looked at either at the gate or at the border. I did have to show a printed copy however. The NAAT (Nucleic acid amplification test) is in fact a nucleic acid test which is ok per the Chinese embassy.

I had poor flight timing coming into PVG, as Lufthansa just dropped off a bunch of Europeans just prior to AA unloading - so immigration took a good two hours.

If you haven't left China, or returned to China in some time, you need more information on your arrivals card than you used to, and they don't hand them out on the plane any more. You'll need the name and local telephone number of someone in China. This was a good part of why immigration took 2 hours, and many people didn't realize you needed to fill that thing out, leading to some confusion in the front of the line.

The self declation "black" QR code is all that remains of the old covid flight controls.

I was wondering how this works. I am going to be flying out of (and therefore testing in) Boston. Apparently, there are no Walgreens in Massachusetts, so it looks like I'll be going to a CVS. I didn't realize that the survey answer questions were the key to getting the test for free, but that does seem to be the case (i.e. I floated a "coughing" and "sore throat" trial balloon). If any of you have done the drill at a CVS, I'm curious to hear your insights. I have a pretty full schedule on flight day so I don't want to screw up the test.

(bolding mine)

Wow, quite the different experience for me: I landed at PVG on the exact same day, with Arrival Cards being handed out during the flight, and immigration taking 10 minutes.