Multiple-entry, 12-month L visa: What sort of documentation do I need?

[flippant]

Next year, I plan to basically bum around China and see, eat and experience as much as I can, as well as learning a bit of Chinese--at a very leisurely pace. After that one year of wanderlust, I plan to study for a year (through a CSC scholarship or my University).

I have already stayed in China for 6 months (2009) on an F visa, so first timer "limitations" on multiple-entry visas shouldn't(?) apply. Single entry L visas are almost always 90 days where I live.

My only question is this: what sort of documentation is needed? Obviously something from China, but what, exactly that might be is unclear.

A friend of mine was recently given one of these visas after his Chinese girlfriend vouched for him (I don't have the letter, so it's hard to know what she wrote that enabled this). But, it made me realize there might be a bit more flexibility in the requirements for documentation than I had given them credit for earlier.

Any ideas on the matter or examples of valid documentation would be fantastic.

[fanglu]

The rules are different for different nationalities, and even different consulates. Ring them and ask.