Kings and queens of the road

A tourist bus pulls up near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Trafalgar Square in London, or any other tourist attraction in Europe you care to name, and troop out a mass of Chinese, with cameras, selfie sticks and UnionPay cards at the ready.

These are stereotypical Chinese tourists on a stereotypical tourist jaunt, one that will have them "doing Europe" in seven days and back at work on a Monday morning, ready to regale their workmates with tales of where they stayed, what they saw and what they bought.

Now consider Li Xiaowei, aged 40, hunched over a computer in her Beijing home, admiring dazzling motor vehicles of all types, colors and models, before she chooses one of them and uploads photos of hers and her husband's driving licenses.