American citizen in ROK w/ARC. Wanting to vacation to China

I am an American citizen with an ARC living and working in South Korea. I want to vacation to China for 7 days and 6 nights. Do I really have to get a L type one, and if I do, can you suggest a good agency that can speak English because the Embassy website says that we can only apply through one of their approved travel agencies. I just want to see the Great Wall. Is it really such a hassle???