US asks for photo/fingerprints while getting visa.
EU and Britain, too.
Yes. You have always had to supply a photo for a Chinese visa. A fingerprint requirement was added recently (mid 2017 I believe) at all the Shenzhen/HK border points (ferry, 3x land crossings) but it sounds like it hasn't yet reached all the other airports/border crossings yet.
I visited China on tourist visa in December (2017) and didn't have to give up any biometrics other than photos/videos from the cameras placed everywhere.
So yes you did via the photos
I had my face scanned flying in to Beijing, then again all 10 of my fingerprints while crossing on foot from Hong Kong.