The tourist (L) and transit (G) visas are the only ones that you can apply for without assistance from a business, government or academic institution. 

Most visitors to China will only require a tourist visa which will allow them to travel freely in most parts of China as tourists or to visit or accompany Chinese family members.  If your situation is not described by one of the other visa types, then this should be the visa you need.  If you marry a Chinese person and want to live in China, unless you are eligible for another visa type, you are normally granted a tourist visa with a longer validity.

If you are travelling in an organised tour group you might not have an individual visa in your passport.  Instead, the tour leader will have a general one for the whole group.  In such situations you will supply your details to the organiser before you travel and then you have no further concerns.   If you are travelling to Hainan province in an organised group you might also find that no visa is required.

Requirements
1. Applicant' passport with at least 6 months remaining validity and available blank pages for visa;
2. One properly completed Visa Application Form of the People's Republic of China
3. A recent passport-size color photo with white background stuck on the visa application form 

For tourism, applicants also need provide the below required documents.
4. Under some situations, the original and copy of Chinese Hotel Booking and Return Air Ticket are required. 
5. For applicants who will travel into Tibet, they must obtain a Tibet Travel Permit. This can either be obtained by joining a group or by obtaining the permit from Tourism Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region (Tel +86 891 6834313 or Fax +86 891 6834632).

For family visit, applicants should provide the following documents besides the first three items listed above:
6. Proof of Relationship, such as Marriage License, however, the applicants who were born in China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) as shown on the passport are exempt from this proof.

How to Apply
You can come to the Chinese Embassies, Consulates and other Chinese diplomatic missions to submit application in person; if you can't come personally, you can entrust someone else, a travel agency or a visa agency to act on your behalf. Applications by mailing are not acceptable and will be refused at most of Chinese embassies or consulates. No appointment is required.

Processing Time
It regularly takes 4 working days for processing. For express service, additional fees of US$ 20 will be charged per visa for second or third working day releasing. For rush service, additional fees of US$30 per visa will be charged for the same working day releasing.

Visa Fees
The visa fees vary enormously depending on your nationality and number of entries. However, according to the Visa Fee Abolition Agreement, the nationals of following seven countries are free of Chinese visa fees, but they need pay for the express service, rush service or mail service: Pakistan, Maldives, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Poland, Yugoslavia and Slovakia. Visa application by mailing is accepted at some Chinese embassies or consulates, such as China Embassy in Canberra, Australia.