I don't know of any visa agencies in the US that guarantee (or come close to doing so) 2+ year visas, but if you are well prepared, and apply on your own, you can greatly increase your odds because you get a chance to run your application -- standalone -- past the counter person and make any suggested last minute tweaks.

Even if my consulate journeys were remotely expensive/inconvenient (they are not because I work them into my overall travel schedule), I would still make a considerable effort to go in person because not having to repeat the drill a year later is worth a lot to me.

I will be flying on an award ticket from AKL to PVG. Arriving on a Tues. morning and staying only one night. Leaving Wed. evening and heading to YYZ. If I understand correctly, I will not need to get a China Visa. Is my understanding correct?

provided you hold an eligible passport, and provided you are flying non-stop out of china (ie not transiting through PEK) your itinerary is good :)

I am flying direct from AKL to PVG. Next day direct from PVG to YYZ. Do I have to get a note when I exit the airport at PVG? Special line to stand in when I go through immigration?

We have two entire threads dedicated to TWOV (one general, and one specific to Shanghai). The answer to your question is readily available there.

OK. Do you want to give me a hint where I might find that. I have not been following that thread.

In the wiki/sticky at the top of this page you will see a link to TWOV. If you click on that, there is another wiki/sticky that gives you all the information.

(essentially however, you just need to make sure you have all the documentation for you onwards flights, and present yourself at immigration in PVG and they will stamp your passport with TWOV)

Thank you!

Have read the last 10 pages of the thread, and haven't seen too much discussion on the topic of 3 year L tourist visas.

Any updates on tips for documentation or filling out the application to increase chances of getting a 3 year (or at least a 2 year) visa? Would be nice to have the flexibility and not have to re-apply all the time.

My last two visas were F multiple 1-year in 2012-13 and L multiple 1-year in 2009-10. I've had L, F and X visas going back 10 years (7 in total). Would providing copies of all those with the application help?

Applying at the NYC consulate. Have a trip planned for mid-April, and possibly for November as well.

I don't know where things stand since the latest change but before then the 2-year Ls were only available to China-born and their spouses.

Will getting a 5 day Shenzhen / 3 day Zhuhai visa cancel an existing visa with additional enteries?

Hmm... I didn't realize that. I thought I saw a post or two about folks getting a 2-year L who weren't China-born or married to a China-born?

IIRC, if one or both of your parents was born in China, you also qualify. BTW, I'm pretty sure this type of visa is no longer referred to as "L".

I don't recall anyone like that on here. I most certainly did send documentation with my visa app showing I'm married to a China-born.

Mnredfox?