My Chinese father-in-law is over 80, and while the travel agent selling the plane ticket recommended getting a certificate of health from a reputable hospital prior to travel, in actuality no one asked to see said certificate.

Only need to live in China 3 months a year to retain the greencard. I did a double take as well, as I was 'sure' that the documents I read last year (when I applied) said the opposite. Certainly not complaining, though.

Not sure about any specific tax implications, but it's worth noting that the residency requirement for the Chinese greencard is now 3 months of every year, or 1 year out of 5 years. (An application is required to receive leniency/approval for meeting the latter rather than the former requirement if the 3-month requirement poses a problem.

@Janjal Y1500 for the application, plus costs of notarizations, etc. Y300 for the card itself. Strangely, they wouldn't take cash for the original application fee, and required cash for the card fee.

All told it is certainly a few thousand RMB, plus the inconvenience of freezing the Y100K during the application.

Yes, same kind of criminal record check as is used for a work permit.

As for other specific document requirements, best to just talk with the folks in the office downtown. I lost the list I had in a recent computer crash.