What is the process of obtaining the china Visa on Arrival as an American?

Assuming that you think about Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen VOAs, this is a very straightforward process. All you have to do is to appear at the border crossing or at the airport in case of Xiamen and apply for a VOA by filling the form and presenting a negative PCR or antigen test. Please, have in mind that all those VOAs are limited just to the cities you are applying for. There is no one general VOA for the entire country.

One important detail for US citizens is the fact that they have to pay 956 CNY for such a visa, so this is quite expensive for them.

Sometimes it is better to rely on 144 hours visa free transit to explore a part of China than on these VOAs. For example, you can fly from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, explore the entire, vast province and exit the China by ferry to Macau. Like this you would be eligible for 144 hours visa free transit in the entire Guagdong province.

Just think about these possibilities.