Double-entry visas

If you plan on going from mainland China to Hong Kong and back to mainland China as part of your overall trip to China, you need a double-entry L visa. Because you can no longer get multiple entry visas, double is the best you can get. With a double entry visa, each entry of 30 days must occur within 90 days of the day your visa is issued. For example, let's say your visa is issued on April 1 and is good for 90 days. The first entry can be any time but the second entry must be before then end of the 90 days, which would be June 29. Double-entry visas aquired outside of China allow you to extend your L visa from within China at the Entry & Exit Bureau in Beijing or Shanghai every 30 days up to 2 times (costs 150 RMB, takes 5 days). Multiple-entry visas have been suspended until at least September. But multiple-entry visas that have not expired are still valid.