For employers, it doesn't matter a whole lot. They'd hire you simply for your foreign face.

But the visa is a whole other story:
www.internations.org/go/moving-to-china/visas-work-permits

I did an online TEFL course while I was travelling, to increase my chances of getting a teaching job.

You get what you pay for: it's cheap, it's not rocket science, still it's a nice refresher on how to structure your lessons, grammar etc. It definitely made me feel more confident going into job interviews and demos, and you tick one more box for having a TEFL certificate.

I did this one, which I thought was very good value for money as they offer a lot of extra resources apart from the course itself:

www.i-to-i.com/tefl-courses/level-3/

Hi I too searching for a TEFL short course in Kunming any one who could advise me of a cheaper school that offers TEFL in class sessions please

Kurt the site you link to says the L in Chinese tourist visas stands for Laowai. The site may be full of good advice but that howler doesn't fill me with confidence.

"To start up an English teaching course and give out TEFL certificates, you theoretically need no training or experience. You could start a course yourself right now and start handing out TEFL certificates."

Just copied that from a TEFL school site (whose message is - we're not like the others.)

Business idea for an entrepreneurial type around here?

To reopen this thread.
Question, do Uni's accept online tefl's?

Putting aside private sector enterprises.
It used to be that all state sector education you needed to have a recognized TEFL (e.g. CELTA, TESOL) certificate to teach English. Unis give foreign expert certificates, and you need all of the paperwork to apply.
You do not need need a TEFL to teach other subjects, but employers like it.
To teach other subjects in Uni I have been asked to provide Masters degree certification in a related field. I am not sure what high schools want for non English subject teachers. btw you didn't even need to be a native speaker for non English teaching.

Do you know if the TEFL needs to be certified or notarized first, or verified through an embassy?

I haven't had to do this before, and hear conflicting information.