Calling China: mobile phones everywhere in world's biggest market

Sometimes it seems that no one on the Chinese mainland, from toddlers to octogenarians, ladies in swimming pools to delivery men mid-manoeuvre, is without a cell phone to hand – and statistically it is more or less true.

There are almost as many mobile accounts as people in the world’s most populous country. The mainland had 1.3 billion mobile users by the end of last year and nearly 30 per cent of them – a swathe of humanity larger than the whole population of the United States – were connected to the 4G network, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The zoned-out zombie stare of the smartphone addict is a common sight everywhere on the increasingly mobile-addled planet, but it can seem all the more ubiquitous in China.

People retreat behind their little blue screens at any time of day or night, in dark concert halls, taking a break from the kids on the playroom floor, or in the company of a crowd of uniformed colleagues doing exactly the same thing.

Nearly everyone who accesses the internet – a staggering 92.5 per cent – does so via their mobile, official Chinese bodies say.