I am Australian, and want to holiday in China using my own car which I can ship from Korea. Problem?

Applicants applying for special tour to China should provide a visa notification issued by China National Tourism Administration or the tourism administration of related province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. Special tour includes self-driving, hiking, cycling, horse-riding, expedition, hot air balloon, or other activities.

It is true that you need a "special" type of visa, it is very hard for you to make a self-driving travel in China because the individually owned cars are not allowed to enter China except you get the approval from the China National Tourism Administration

Andrew, I went to the China National Tourism Association here in Seoul yesterday (Friday) afternoon and the four people there very very helpful and friendly. They gave me a cup of coffee and listened closely to what I had to say. One lady had some English but there was still a language problem - on both sides. However I got the impression that they had never heard of such restrictions on getting an individually owned car into their country. They made several phone calls and I came away knowing that the process would take a month and that I should go through a travel agent in China. They went so far as to give me a name and email address of such a travel agent in Beijing. Unfortunately time has run out for me and I will be heading home to Australia in a couple of weeks. I had hoped to get the car into China, find someplace to store her, and come back next summer with no time restrictions or restraints.
However, Andrew, thank you so much for responding on this website. I just wish I had tried it earlier when still in Vladivostok. But once again thank you and a thank you to the people who run the site as well ..........Graeme Robin