It's only required if you cannot provide "hotel confirmation". So IMHO it's reasonable:
"Documents showing the itinerary including air ticket booking record (round trip) and either hotel confirmation, or an invitation letter for tourism (includeing itinerary details) issued by a relevant unit or individual in China."
(On Visa Centre's webpage they actually typed "includeing")
I don't think 向问天 is 自干 or 舔大使馆. He was just trying hard to divert serious accusation and public angry directly onto Chinese government. He even fabricated non-existent terms within Chinese Nationality Law.