Do I have to give hotel reservations for each day of my stay or only for the hotel on arrival?

I am going to Yunnan and Sichuan from the UK in July/August as a Tourist but haven't finalised my itinerary yet. Do I have to provide hotel reservations for every single day of my stay in China or only for the hotel where I will check-in immediately after my arrival?

Also, I really don't want to buy my plane ticket until I know I definitely have a Chinese visa. Do I have to provide a return ticket with my application?

Thanks for your help.

Anne