US Embassy China has liberalized their non-immigrant visa application procedures.  

Effective immediately non-immigrant visa applicants may book interview appointments at any U.S. Consular Section in China, regardless of the province or city where they live.  Consular Sections are located at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and U.S. Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang.

The full text of the announcement is available HERE

The web page does not state the date the announcement was posted.  It appears to have been posted during the first week in July, 2010.