Hello, L Visa to China

I am starting a Round the World trip in November 2018 when I will head to Japan and start traveling westward from there.

The only country on my list that I have to get entry permit in advance as a US citizen is China.

While I am not certain on when exactly I will get to China, I am estimating that it will be some time in mid-February to mid-March 2019.

Since I will be leaving USA early November, I was trying to apply for the L in September.

Would that be too early to apply for China L? My concern is that I get the visa and it ends up saying "enter before January 2019" for example.

Please let me know.

Thanks a lot.