Why coachloads of Chinese tourists are flocking to your favourite beauty spot

Quiet byways in the shadow of West London’s bustling high streets aren’t where you’d normally expect a minibus full of Chinese Gen Z tourists to be dropped off.

But these Asian travelers are forgoing the rolling tours of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace in favor of the wisteria-covered facades of million-pound mansions in Kensington and Notting Hill.

So what is the catalyst behind the purple bloom and the reorientation of Britain’s tourism map? RedNote, or as he is more commonly known in his home country of Xiaohongshu.

The social media platform’s name translates to ‘Little Red Book’ in English, and the wisteria-lined streets of England featured on its digital pages attract eager ‘digital travellers’.

Equipped with the app, this photo becomes a tour guide bible for the Chinese, who arrive in minibuses equipped with portable changing rooms that allow for multiple outfit changes for the perfect Instagram-worthy shot.

York, the surrounding North York Moors and Cotswold villages such as Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water are also seeing a rise in Asian tourists after being featured in RedNote; Bicester Village in Oxfordshire is also becoming an increasingly popular outing.

The platform faced an influx of American users calling themselves ‘TikTok refugees’ amid fears that the social media app would potentially be banned in the US.

RedNote currently has more than 350 million monthly users, according to Chinese firm Nanjing Marketing Group, and is predominantly used by middle- and upper-class women in their 20s and 30s.

An example of a post by Stafford Terrace, Kensington, on the Chinese platform RedNote

Asian tourists use phone stand to take photos in front of wisteria in West London

Tourists take photos in front of blooming wisteria outside a house in West London

Its name has become associated with the color of the Chinese Communist Party, although Chinese culture generally revere this color as a symbol of good luck and prosperity.

Owners of some photogenic houses in West London say crowds are growing larger and more organised, being directed to specific locations through ‘wisteria tours’ posted on social media.

This year there has been a particular increase in extravagantly dressed tourists from Asia, particularly Japan, where the wisteria originate.

A homeowner in Stafford Terrace, Kensington, was forced to erect a sign telling influencers not to pick or lean on his flowers after repeated damage to the plant.

He said: ‘We put up the sign so people would respect the flowers; There are too many people. People are good, the problem is that the professionals come.

‘Every now and then professional photographers, stylists come along and they become a problem because they try to turn it into a set; This is not very pleasant for us. They come with changes, they put stylists, furniture, chairs, tables, they make sets.

‘Last year we had a car dealer here who took photos of cars. If the public wants to look at the plants please, but we don’t like it for those trying to make a business out of it.

‘Some people try to grab the flowers and manipulate it, which isn’t nice, but otherwise I’d say the vast majority are fine.’

Tourists head to Bibury in Gloucestershire, which has become popular with Chinese visitors

A post from the Cotswolds on the Chinese platform RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu

Some locals in Bibury, Gloucestershire are fed up with selfie-taking tourists

Buses bring tourists to Bibury in Gloucestershire, a popular village in the Cotswolds

‘Private gardens not allowed’ says sign in Japanese outside The Swan Hotel in Bibury

Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire is also regularly packed with international visitors

Bourton-on-the-Water has been called the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ for its beautiful low bridges

The 25-year resident said tourists flocked to his home after the outbreak was reported on RedNote.

He added: ‘It’s all since Covid, we found out we got into the Little Red Book, it’s gone viral ever since. Before Covid, no one would come.’

Thai YouTuber Neti Wichiansasen, who runs Neti’s Cinematic Journeys channel, was filming a walking tour of West London for her account.

The 60-year-old man said: ‘Information [about walking tours] it went viral – before that, there were cherry blossoms.

‘I’ve seen some TikTok users spend a lot of time in front of houses, sometimes sitting on fences.

‘I went to Portobello Road for cherry blossom last week, they were carrying suitcases with lots of changes of clothes. They spend almost two hours; I think it’s frustrating.’

York is also fast becoming a ‘must visit’ after being featured on RedNote; Chinese people want to ‘experience something of British life’.

Meanwhile, Asian tourists are also heading to seaside towns in the North York Moors; Some are attracted to Whitby because it is mentioned in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Bicester Village in Oxfordshire is another popular destination for Asian tourists visiting the UK

Bicester Village is now so loved by Chinese tourists that they flock here in greater numbers than any other destination in the UK bar Buckingham Palace.

Will Zhuang, who works for the York tourist agency, told the Economist that they no longer rush from buses to snap a few photos before setting off. Now they come in small groups and stay there.

‘They come to Yorkshire and say ‘This is England’,’ he said.

After being dubbed the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’ for its beautiful low bridges connecting it to the River Windrush, Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire is regularly crowded with international visitors snapping photos and vlogging.

Locals in the tiny village of just 4,000 people were forced to contend with hundreds of thousands of tourists, prompting councilors to claim the tranquil surroundings had been ‘devastated’.

Visitors are seen stopping at the river, blocking roads and causing endless queues at local bars and bakeries.

Indeed, residents say they are fed up; A survey found nine in ten residents of Bourton say tourists ‘ruin their lives’.

The survey, conducted by Bourton Residents’ Voice, asked 4,000 local people and received 200 responses. It was found that 95 percent of residents believed there were too many visitors and 91 percent reported that their quality of life was negatively affected.

Additionally, 93 per cent thought traffic and parking were not managed properly, while 82 per cent said Bourton had lost its sense of community.

July and August are the busiest months in the village; Weekends and public holidays are particularly crowded.

The annual duck race, held on July 20 last year, packed the area to capacity as people gathered to watch the yellow plastic animals being carried away by the current.

The event attracted locals and tourists and also featured Tombola and ‘Play Your Cards Right’ slogans and was also advertised by the North Cotswolds Rotary.

The city of York is fast becoming a ‘must visit’ after being featured on RedNote

Some tourists also seem to be interested in Whitby, as it was mentioned in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

RedNote has seen a boom in users during Covid and amid fears TikTok will be banned in the US

A woman holds her smartphone showing Chinese social networking app RedNote

Children and adults were filmed splashing around in the shallow stream in images posted on social media to show off the ‘beautiful English village’.

But reacting to the video, one person replied: ‘Yes, a beautiful English village ruined by marauding tourists.’

The influx of visitors is being driven in part by influencers on social media promoting the village as a perfect day trip destination away from big cities like London.

Meanwhile, Bicester Village is one of Britain’s most unexpectedly visited tourist attractions, especially by those from Asia.

The open-air designer outlet shopping center in Oxfordshire attracts 7.3 million shoppers each year; Many of these are big spenders from China, thanks to discounted deals on big luxury brands, Mandarin-speaking staff and easy rail access from London.

In fact, Bicester Village is so loved by Chinese tourists that they flock to it in greater numbers than any other destination in England bar Buckingham Palace; Advertisements and posts on the social media site Weibo serve to further increase the popularity of this village.

The site has now inspired a number of similar ‘village-style’ shopping malls in Europe, the Middle East and China; this includes the seemingly incongruous ‘Bicester Village Shanghai’.

Locals in Bibury, Gloucestershire, once described as ‘the loveliest village in England’ by 19th-century writer William Morris, have become disappointed with tourists in recent years.

In 2025, fed-up villagers began hanging signs on their gardens urging people not to trample them, while others blocked their roads with cones.

One person even placed a sign saying ‘private’ in traditional Chinese characters in an attempt to keep unwanted strangers away, while another sign written in Japanese outside the Swan Hotel reads ‘private gardens not allowed’.