South African for 1 week in China

I would like to find out the procedure and how long it will take to get a holiday visa to China. I want to go to visit my sister who is living there for New Years. What are the requirements for a holiday visa? I work 5days a week but I can get at least 1 day off just to go and apply for my visa so the time on how long it takes for the visa to be processed it very important.