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To answer parts 2 & 3, your passport, visa application and supporting documents must be delivered by hand to the Chinese Embassy or Consulate covering the area you reside it. You don't have to physically do this, you can have a visa agency handle the physical aspects.
I have used China Visa Service Center ( http://www.mychinavisa.com/ ) in the past for handling my all my Chinese visas (both for tourism and business). They do a good job, prompt turn around and are quick to answer questions.
They can probably answer part 1 of your question, better than those of us here.