Chinese visa application question for student studying abroad‏.

I am a U.S. citizen who was born in and has always resided in Illinois, and I will be studying abroad in Hong Kong at The Chinese University in Hong Kong (CUHK) this summer. During my stay in Hong Kong and afterwards, I will be traveling to China a few times for sightseeing, and as such, I will need a multiple-entry Chinese Tourist Visa.

I'm now confused by by what forms I'm supposed to fill out.

My other question is that in addition to the Visa Application Form of the People's Republic of China, am I also required to fill out an "Application Form for Authentication or Notarization".
The instructions on the Authentication form instructions website are not very clear.

I call the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to get a constant busy tone, and by calling the Visa/Passport office I can only leave a message, thought it doesn't help that I can't do even that since their inbox is full. So, I sent an e-mail and will hopefully receive a reply soon.

I hope you guys can help me with this first.
Thank you very much in advance!