I downloaded the application for my Visa to China.

All blanks outlined in red MUST be completed. OK, so I'll fake something for an employer and address and phone since I'm retired. But what do I put in the one that says "Inviter, Contact or Your Relative in China" including an address, phone, and email?

I don't know anyone in China -- I haven't really been "invited" -- and I don't know of any relatives there. So what do YOU do in this case?

List your first hotel.

Also, it's fine to say you are retired.

Hmmmm. OK. Guess I'd better book a hotel.

I understood I should put n/a on those lines. I'll let you know if the visa comes through.

Just put some hotel's name in it. They don't require you to show plane/hotel reservations, and they're not going to check on it.

I left that portion blank (had no "inviter" or hotel reservation yet) and got my visa 2 weeks ago.

I sent my passport and applications for China and for Vietnam to PVS Services. I felt it was easier to let them do both then sending it back and forth -- and I'll need my passport to go to Canada meanwhile.

Funny though, the application for Vietnam says you MUST include a copy of airline ticket or itinerary. When I got back from the post office I realized I left those out. I called and they said "oh, we don't need those at all". So much for feeling you have to follow orders to the letter.

I just got a visa for China. I'd left those spaces blank but no one said a word about them.

My experience was a bit different. I wrote the name of my hotel in Shanghai, my first stop in China, but did not include the address. The woman at the window at the PRC visa office in NYC did not want to accept my application because of the missing hotel details. I know that Neo already took care of his visa, but others should be aware.

In my experiences with the agents at the Chinese Consulate, it all depends on who serves you. Some will be more detail-oriented than others, but asking for the hotel's address is not usually requested since most people leave that section blank.

I received my passport back today with the VietNam and the Chinese Visas attached.

But I requested a dual entry visa for China. It says -- Category L, and Entries M. It also is valid to enter before April 23 of 2011 and says "duration of each stay 30 days". So I'm guessing they gave me a multi-entry Visa, not just a dual one? I'd call the Passport Service company, but it's Saturday and they are closed.

M = Multiple.

I understood when I dropped off my application last week that China now offers only the multiple entry for 6 months and charges for it (rather than the previous options I read about on the web site for a single or dual entry at a lower cost!!).

Ah, that would explain it, although my multi entry is clearly good for a year with each visit of up to 30 days.

At the Los Angeles Consulate, I specifically asked the agent at the window about the "M" on my L visa (on U.S. passport) and was told that it was for multiple entries for one year. Interestingly, my application was only for a single entry for 3 months but I got the multiple entry for 12 months, with each visit up to 60 days. I have no idea how they decide who gets what type of visa - it's all the same price of $130.