Hey Coraderie,
Fanta is right. But what I was thinking is that you have your current employer renew your work permit/residency permit for another year. Then after you have that in hand, you can leave that company and roam free for a years time. Companies usually won't go out of their way to cancel it on you (but they might...so pay attention to this).
Otherwise, you just need to make a trip out of China, grab a visa, then come back in. If you do go to HK, flying to Shenzhen then taking a bus into HK is a cheaper and easy way to save a few bucks. HK is still considered to be an international flight so it costs more.
Good luck!
Spencer
www.china-business-traveller.com