Some knocked on doors to take selfies with the occupants or asked if they could mow owners' lawns.
One was even found trying out a trampoline in a front garden.
Theories abounded, including tour operators wrongly claiming the spot had appeared in Midsomer Murders or selling it on the strength of the area once being home to Sir Richard Branson.
Various theories abounded as to why the village had become such a hotspot. Photo / Facebook
Now a tour guide has come clean - the visitors are being punished for refusing to pay a hefty surcharge to visit nearby Blenheim Palace.
Sun Jianfeng, 48, a guide with Beijing Hua Yuan International Travel, revealed customers were normally charged £53 ($93) for an optional Chinese language tour of the ancestral home of Winston Churchill.
But some had realised they could buy an entry ticket at the palace on the day for £24.90 ($43) - or less than half the price. They were then secretly sneaking there on foot from nearby town Woodstock, much to the annoyance of those who had paid more.
The solution, he told the New York Times, was to drop "those who had opted out" four miles away in Kidlington where they would not have enough time to walk to Blenheim Palace before moving on to the next coach stop.
It takes around 80 minutes to walk from Kidlington to Blenheim Palace, as opposed to a 10 minute walk from Woodstock, the nearest village.
The tourists had been dropped there to stop them visiting Blenheim Palace on their own for cheaper. Photo / 123RF
Bemused locals yesterday accepted the explanation was the most likely reason for the surge of foreign visitors.
One, who asked not to be named, said: "I never believed all that stuff about being conned into thinking Harry Potter was filmed here or it was because Richard Branson used to live here.
"If I was having nearly £30 added on to the price of a ticket to have a tour guide take me round somewhere in China I'd probably want to save money too."
Locals were so vexed by their newfound popularity that the village's Facebook page was filled with ideas about what was behind it.
It does have some charms to offer, such as a 12th century church and the gurgling River Cherwell.
Other than that it has seven pubs, a couple of cafes, a library, four restaurants, a high street and an immigration detention centre.
Mr Sun did confirm, however, that one of the theories - Chinese tourists from run-down rural areas or smog-filled cities with concrete tower blocks wanting to experience true British suburbia - did hold some truth.
"The environment in the countryside in China isn't so great," he said, explaining it could be 'run-down and gritty' compared to England.
"In Kidlington the environment is great. You see farm fields and ranches here.
"Also, many newly built houses here have brick or brick and wood structures, which you no longer see very often in urban China."
Residents have warned the pleasant village atmosphere is under threat, however.
Retired business manager Roy Wilkins, 74, said it was "one of the best" at present.
But he added: "Car parking is a problem and we're going to be getting one of the biggest supermarkets in the south of Britain soon. We're losing a lot of atmosphere."
