Chinese investment in Australian real estate has grown by almost 60 per cent in the past two years, with buyers and developers focusing largely on Sydney and inner-city Melbourne. Huge interest from cashed-up Chinese buyers has been a major driver for house prices in some suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne to rocket by as much as 27 per cent over the past year. The median house price in Sydney rose by 15 per cent last year.

The slowdown in Chinese growth - to a still-impressive and better-than-expected 7.7 per cent - has certainly hurt Australia's economy. The country expanded its mining capacity as Chinese growth rocketed. Now, as China's expansion slows, global commodity prices have fallen and Australia's economy is growing at a slower pace as mining investment crumples.

Mainland residents have become the world's biggest travellers and the biggest spending travellers. A total of 97 million mainland tourists left the country last year and about 700,000 headed Down Under - where they splashed out in excess of A$4 billion (HK$27.76 billion) during their average eight to 12-day trip.