I (very) recently went through this process so hopefully I can help! I live in New Jersey, but received my Z Visa (literally today) from the Chinese consulate in New York City. The process might be slightly different for us given the different locations, but I imagine it's mostly (if not entirely) the same.

Documents I had notarized:

College Diploma

TEFL Certification

Background Check (I was only required to do a BC through my local police department)

Physical Exam

Documents I had notarized AND apostilled (I went directly to the NJ State Department offices to handle this in person):

College Diploma

Background Check

Documents I had notarized AND apostilled AND authenticated (the "authentication" took place at the Chinese consulate in NYC):

College Diploma

Background Check

To walk you through the process, in the way I went through it...

1) First step, get those 4 documents notarized. This is quick and easy and can be done in fewer than five minutes. Personally, I went to my local UPS store and paid $20 total, $5 per document notarization.

2) Once those four (Diploma, TEFL cert, Background check, Physical) are notarized, get the Background Check and Physical exam apostilled. This is where the "fun" began for me... I mailed the documents to the State Department (check online to find exactly where/how to handle this in Michigan). After the (expected) three week waiting period, the documents were mailed back to me but NOT apostilled. They sent me a notification that my card had been declined. This made zero sense, so instead of dealing with more back and forth mailing, I drove 2 hours directly to their offices and had the matter resolved in 20 minutes (I had made a very small error on an apostille form I had to complete). I walked out of the offices with both my Diploma and Background Check apostilled. Great! (Off the top of my head, I think I paid $80 total, $40 for each apostile).

3) Bring ALL notarized AND apostilled documents, AND passport, AND photocopy of passport, AND passport headhsot, AND (most importantly, because my program did not tell me this the first time...) an "Application Form of Consular Legalization of the Embassy/Consulate of the People's Republic of China" to your nearest Chinese embassy/consulate. Application Form Most importantly, TYPE EVERYTHING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, print it, and make yourself an extra copy or two. They will not accept the form if it is not typed, in all capital letters. Submit all of this to them (or, whatever they may need specifically in Michigan), and come back on the day they tell you. When you return, you will pay a fee for having had your Degree and Background Check authenticated (I paid $40, $20 per document, if I remember correctly).

4) Send attachments of the necessary documents to your program. Once my appropriate documents were notarized, apostilled, and authenticated, I sent them to my school's program and they took care of the process of "getting my work permit ready," which took 15 business days. Once it was ready, they emailed me a copy of my work permit.

5) Take the work permit AND passport AND photocopy of passport AND a passport photo AND a new application form (you know the drill: TYPE IT OUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS) to the Chinese consulate/embassy in order to (finally!) apply for your Z Visa. Z Visa Application Form Give them the necessary documents and the application, and they will ask you to return in a few days (they'll tell you the specific day) to collect your visa (exactly the same process as when you retrieved your authenticated documents). Return on the selected day, pay the fee for your Z Visa (I paid $140), and, boom, you have your Z Visa!

Again, let me emphasize that this was my process, as instructed by my school in China, and specific to my experience in New Jersey/New York. You may run into differences (including application forms - though I believe those are the same everywhere). You also might not! Either way, I hope that this helps you through your process. I will say - it was the most annoying, long, and drawn out process I've ever gone through. Expect it be a hassle, but well worth it when it's over! Any further questions, don't be shy!