The Plough at Cadsden, a 16th-century Buckinghamshire inn, has become a hotspot for Chinese tourists since president’s state visit in 2015

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

It was an improbable symbol of the embryonic romance between London and Beijing: a 16th-century Buckinghamshire pub where then prime minister David Cameron and Chinese president Xi Jinping sealed their countries’ “golden” friendship over a pint of Greene King IPA.



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Now the Plough at Cadsden – a rural tavern near the official country retreat used by British prime ministers – has reportedly been sold to Chinese investors for an undisclosed fee.

“We are really pleased to have completed the sale of the Plough to SinoFortone Investment,” Neil Morgan, the Christie & Co director behind the sale was quoted as saying by the Morning Advertiser, a publication focusing on the pub sector.

“The pub became famous in Chinese circles following the visit of President Xi Jinping, and it has become quite a tourist attraction for Chinese visitors since, who are keen to sample the classic British food and beer that the president tried,” Morgan added.

Peter Zhang, the managing director of the government-backed investment group behind the deal, said: “We are so excited about this new adventure.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Then British prime minister David Cameron and China’s President Xi Jinping leave the Plough at Cadsden pub in October 2015. Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

“The English pub concept is growing very fast in China and it’s the best way culturally to link people from different countries and build friendships,” Zhang was quoted as saying by the state-run China Daily newspaper.

The Plough at Cadsden served its first ale during the Ming dynasty and today describes itself as “probably the most famous pub in England” and “that kind of pub [where] everyone feels at home here and can be sure of a warm welcome”.

Because of its proximity to Chequers, the prime minister’s country home in Buckinghamshire, a succession of political figures has propped up its bar over the years, including Edward Heath, Britain’s leader from 1970 until 1974.

The pub’s website says it also regularly hosts “a variety of local celebrities from the world of film, television and the music industry”.

It wasn’t until October 2015, however, when Xi and Cameron graced its bar during the former’s state visit to Britain, that the watering hole came on to Chinese radars.

Xi’s brief visit, which helped launch a controversial diplomatic flirtation dubbed the “golden era” of UK-China relations, made the pub a magnet for some of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists who visit Britain each year.

“We read the news that President Xi visited here and would love to experience the food and drink that he tasted,” one such visitor, 26-year-old Miao Xin, told the China Daily last year.

Speaking to the same newspaper, the pub’s landlord, Steve Hollings, claimed Xi had sent him an email “thanking him, and saying that he enjoyed the meal and drink in the pub”.

But not all patrons have been impressed by the changes that have taken place since Xi’s visit.

“Seems to have lost its mojo,” one critic wrote of the Plough on Tripadvisor in September.