Ms,Heather, no one here can assure you with that, what I have to say is visa officers will make the final decision that whether issue you visa or not. Foreign applicants other than Thais can try to apply for China visa in Hu Chi Minh city only, China visa policy is changing all the time, so there is posiblity that you can not get one there too.
You can contact the consulate for final confirmation: Tel(84-8) 38292465Fax(84-8) 38275845

I have more than a dozen Chinese visa on my passports. It is much preferable to apply Chinese visa in your home country i.e. the country of issuance of the passport.

If you must, Yes you can apply a Chinese visa in a third country for example and I have done that several times. but problems may arise. The normal processing time is 3-4 days depending on the country. YOu can get a 24 hours rush service for a much steeper fee. I can only quote this from experience from Malaysia and Canada and US too.

For Malaysian passport holders, apply on Monday, you will get it on Friday for local currency Ringgit 58 for single entry. If rush, $240. So this will give you a perspective on the relative cost. Mind you, the fee charged is also depending on the country of the passport. For Canadian passport, if I apply in Malaysia, it is $100 US. about $300 Ringgit equivalent for a single entry.

I am sure, the Chinese are most likely to treat a South African on the same level of fee charged as Malaysia and I can bet on it.


Regarding your question

1) I am not sure if there is a consulate office in Ho Chi Minh city and I think you can check it in the web

2) There is a rush fee if there is a consulate office to process your application.

3) Normal office hours apply for most consulates, but sometimes, they may not accept application after 2 pm. This is the experience I got from Malaysia

4) Consulate office of any country do not operate over weekend and perhaps you can ask the travel agent but they still have to wait till office hours on a office working day i.e. Mon to Fri.

I am sure there will be a Chinese Embassy in Hanoi. if Ho Chi Minh city does not have a consulate.