My bad. I saw tourist visa and didn't register the duly authorised part.

They are normally only necessary if you are travelling on a package tour. If you contact some HK travel agents they might be able to arrange for you (possibly IT travel agents too).

Alternatively, you could arrange a regular invitation letter and get all the other docs together to go and apply again. If you've spent some time in China you will know that just because they said one thing when you talked to them last, it doesn't mean that if you go to visa office again another day or talk to a different person that they will all have the same requirements.

You could also ask a travel agent to lodge the visa for you and see if that changes things around.

Normally, for tourist visa, invitation letter of any kind is not needed, if you have hotel bookings for the duration of your stay. Have you tried this way?

The problem here could be that the OP who is asking for the visa is Nigerian. People from poorer countries have greater difficulties getting a Chinese visa, particularly if they apply outside of their home countries. If the OP were say American or Australian and applying in Italy, it would probably be a piece of cake.

At the Lao border a year ago, citizens of about 20 countries (mostly African, but also including Turkey) could not get Lao visas at the border, and Chinese Immigration there would not even let a Nigerian I met leave China to go across to Lao immigration to apply. Result was that the Nigerian had to return to Jinghong to apply for a visa extension for China and a visa for Laos. He only had about 36 more hours on his Chinese visa & so may well have been forced to overstay his Chinese visa.

That's true and it will only get tougher in future. Laos also makes it tough to get a visa for these nationals if not resident in the country they apply in. Or they might need to go on a tour. I am not confident this Nigerian guy you met would have been issued a Lao visa. They require the purchase of a tour package, local guarantor and return flight tickets so going in by bus is a no-no unless a multiple entry visa that has been previously used has been issued but Laos does not routinely issue anything other than single entry visas.

@Tom: what you write above is required of these nationalities only, is that what you mean?

@Alien, yes only for these nationals. For everyone else it's as easy as always and I would expect more visa free agreements to be signed between Laos and some major countries, mostly western countries and possibly even China eventually. Currently Swiss, Russians, Japanese, South Koreans, Luxembourg and ASEAN citizens can enter Laos visa free.

@Sandy92
Try Wonders of Yunnan. Last time I checked, they were providing Letters of Invitation for a LOT less than the price you were quoted.