Inquiry. Please I am supposed to undertake a six month research study in China.

Per the visa types I am supposed to applied to apply for the X1 type.
But I heard that now the maximum duration for X1 is 3 months after which the applicant would have have to return to the home country and re-apply.
Please how true is that. If it is true, is there any other type that I can apply so that I can spend six months instead of 3 months. This is because per the scholarship I obtained, they will only give a round trip fare.

Thank you.