New “Administrative Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Entry and Exit of Foreigners (Order No.637 of State Council, hereinafter referred to as ‘Regulations’)” released by The Chinese government will take effect on September 1, 2013.
The Regulations have increased the number of visa categories from 8 to 12. Based on one’s purpose of entry, the Regulations have provided for the following 12 types of visas: D Visa（Permanent Residence）, Z Visa（Employment）, F Visa（Exchanges, visits and inspections）, L Visa（As a tourist）, X Visa（As a student）, G Visa（Transit）, C Visa（As a crew member or a motor vehicle driver）& J Visa（As a journalist）.
Source: china-briefing.com