I went to China and was treated like a celebrity by crowds of people and everywhere I went I was filmed… it was crazy

A young British backpacker found herself in the spotlight and became an unlikely celebrity during a recent trip to China thanks to her striking natural hairstyle.

Eleanor Hodgson, also known as Elli, posted a video to her TikTok account @ellitravels on August 15, just as Chinese crowds flocked to pose and take photos with her.

The travel enthusiast and blogger, who has nearly 5,000 followers on the social app, has documented her travels across Southeast Asia, visiting countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam.

On the video, which has since racked up over 24,000 views and 700 likes, Elli added a caption, which reads: ‘One of our craziest places to travel was China, we drew crowds wherever we went and were constantly taking pictures and is often filmed.’

Elli’s friend, Nathan, captured the surprising moment during their trip to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, home to the world’s largest downtown square that can accommodate up to a million people.

Eleanor Hodgson, also known as Elli, posted a video to her TikTok account @ellitravels of the moment Chinese crowds came out en masse to pose and take pictures with her in Beijing

During a visit to the tourist hotspot, Elli, whose long, golden blonde curls contrasted with her all-black outfit, quickly turned heads.

The content creator can be seen posing and smiling next to dozens of locals who hugged her as they grinned excitedly at the camera.

In one scene, Elli poses in the middle of a group of six, before taking photos with two older women and two older men.

Crowds of locals – mainly of older age – can be seen patiently waiting their turn for exclusive photos with the blonde backpacker, preparing the cameras on their phones – ready for the perfect shot.

In a text overlay as the footage played, Elli said: “POV: You’re a blonde, curly tourist in China and everyone wants pictures with you like you’re a celebrity.”

Other curly-haired tourists who had previously visited some Southeast Asian countries shared their own beneficial experiences when they were inundated with photo requests from curious locals.

A woman asked Elli if China was safe, but she replied, “I felt completely safe, everyone is super nice, you will have a great time.”

One person wrote: “Had the same experience without blonde hair,” while another jokingly warned: “Go to Indonesia (not Bali) it will be much ‘worse’.”

Another tourist, who was visiting China at the time, wrote: ‘I have black curly hair – today I had a whole group of schoolchildren photographed on the Great Wall. They’re all so nice.’

The content creator can be seen posing and smiling next to dozens of locals who hugged her as they grinned excitedly at the camera

Other curly-haired tourists who had previously visited some Southeast Asian countries shared their own beneficial experiences of being inundated with photo requests from locals

A final spiral-curled person wrote: “Always in Laos and Vietnam. I have red curly hair.’

Elli’s positive experience as a tourist in Asia could not be said of another British woman who revealed the derogatory comments she received about her weight while working abroad in Asia ‘as a fat person’.

Twenty-year-old Anna traveled around Asia picking up work along the way, but the once-in-a-lifetime trip was affected by hurtful comments about her weight.

The young woman, who works in the medical field, calls herself a ‘gastric sleeve queen’ as she recently underwent surgery on the NHS. But before the procedure, Anna had to deal with a stream of ‘demeaning’ comments during her travels.

Anna told her followers in a TikTok clamp about the comments she received, including “fat” and “bigger people sweat more,” saying they “changed her brain chemistry.”