And they spent a lot of money. Chinese visitors pumped 11.5 billion Australian dollars, or $8.1 billion, into the economy in the same period, accounting for more than a quarter of spending by international visitors, according to government statistics.

Australians are greeting the travelers with signs, menus and brochures translated into Chinese — but also a degree of confusion, skepticism and sometimes racism.

We spent four days traveling with a group of tourists, and spoke to others along the way. Many of the visitors had connections to Australia, including relatives who had moved there for work or school. Others were here for the clean air, warm weather and wildlife or to tick off seeing the Sydney Opera House from their bucket list. (The group visited seven different locations to snap photos of the Opera House and nearby Harbour Bridge.)