China travel and Chinese culture discussions...

Chinese visa in Kathmandu

Hi All,

Hoping someone can help me out here. I'm travelling to Kathmandu in 6 weeks time and after a few weeks trekking in Nepal and Tibet am hoping to fly to Beijing. I believe I can apply for the visa (single entry, Australian passport for me, British or New Zealand passport for my husband) at the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu however what I'm finding on the internet suggests I need to have a travel agency contact at the Beijing end. Is this true? I don't have any contacts whatsoever in China and have never been before. Could it be as easy as getting a travel agent in Kathmandu to arrange the visa for us?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Sally