your initial z visa coming in is 90 days and the psp will need 5 business days to process your renewal. they give you a slip to pick up the passport when its ready or the school does this for you. your remaining visas are 6 months for training schools and 1 year for universities and the school pays 400 rmb each time. this is different by province though on time , cost is the same.

the school should give you a copy of the slip or the original,  legally there  is a fine of 500 rmb for not having your passport with you in china , but this is because of international agreements, if you die in a taxi, china is suppposed to notify someone in your embassy in 72 hours, so you have no id on your body, you make their job difficult and chinese dont like difficult, so its your responsibility to die with an id in your pocket.

Your school when they turn in your visa should receive a temporary slip from the visa bureau that you carry till your passport is returned.  If they can't provide that, don't give it to them.  When you get a residence visa, I know it is normal for the visa agency to take your passport for a week or 2, but they don't leave you empty handed.

What the others said - but they didn't give you any advice on what to do if they don't give you a slip of paper - and that is, tell them it would be illegal for you to travel around without that slip of paper, and they need to give it to you, in case the cops ask to see your ID. In a few weeks, you should have your passport back. Again, if they don't give it to you, pull out the same line - it is illegal for you to travel around without it.

If they perchance refuse (and you feel they are refusing cos they're dodgey), then report them to SAFEA (State Administration for Foreign Expert Affairs).... well, threaten to them that you'll give them a call... after all, if you don't have your passport (or that slip of paper), it's your money that you'll lose out on!!!

It is illegal for School to hold your passport longer than it is necessary to process RP, two weeks the longest.

I agree with Shining above, but 'don't threaten!'. If they don't give you satisfying answer, ask manager for address and phone number of SAFEA. That should be enough.

If you really want to talk to SAFEA officers, go to any bank in the city. You will find at least one person in the Bank who speaks English. Ask them for SAFEA address and phone no. You might need Chinese translator at SAFEA, depends on the size of the city.

Did you make and keep a photo-copy of the important pages of your passport? I always have a few so if I have to leave the passport with the police for a few days, i am not without identification. It is also useful on the (unlikely) off-chance it is lost or stolen.

thank you for your reply but my school wants to register my passport in the education bureau. They don,t want to arrange my visa, my visa is already arranged. It is different thing.i don,t know what the school means when they say they want to register the passport in the education bureau

i haven't heard that excuse before !
Uusally it is just he police who want your passport.

BTW, thank you troll for down-thumbing a REASONABLE suggestion of making photo-copies of the passport pages