How do I go about getting an internship in China (Advertising)?

I'm a Chinese-Canadian attending university in America. Currently, I am pursuing advertising as my major. I will be spending next summer in China as I have not seen my relatives in 6 years. I thought it would be a great opportunity to gain some experience in the overseas Advertising industry at the same time. There are many reputable advertising agencies with offices in China and China-based agencies as well that seem like great places to gain experience. However, I am unclear about the hiring process in China.

From what I've heard, internships don't seem to be common in China and hiring seems to be based more on who you know than what you know. That being said, my uncle and cousin both work in creative industry in Beijing so they may have some connections. I don't know if the Chinese job finding process is similar to the West. My parents have not worked in China for more than 10 years and my older cousins did not need internships to find a job so I don't have anybody to seek advice from. From google searches, I've stumbled on some sites for internships in China that seem kind of sketchy.

I don't mind doing nonpaid internships but earning money would be great. Doing a paid internship in China requires a work visa I presume? So that's why I'm asking almost a year in advance in case I have to apply for a visa or something like that.

Some info about me. I'm 19, speak fluent English and Chinese (can only type Chinese, not write), conversational French. I'm currently an intern at an event marketing company doing projects in keywording, CRM marketing, photo editing, etc. I don't know where or how to begin my internship search and would like some help in getting started. Thanks in advance! :)