For many people, life without a mobile phone is hard to imagine.

The experiences of a young man who traveled around China for 134 days without access to technology have stunned the mainland public, Ziniu News reported.

Yang Hao, born in the 1990s and currently studying for his PhD at a British university, left his hometown of Taiyuan in central Shanxi province in November last year and returned in April, having travelled to 24 provinces.

Yang did not have a cell phone or computer with him on his trip and only took two cameras that could not connect to the Internet.

Yang studies contemporary art at the British university and one of his research topics is the influence of digitalization on people’s lives.

“I feel that the mobile phone is like a digital organ for us. Without one, we can’t do many things. So I wanted to find out what happens when we have no internet access at all. What is it like, say, over a period of several months?” Yang said.

He said China is the country with the fastest growing development of digitalization and technology in the world.

“Because of my doubts and considerations about digitalization, I wanted to conduct an experiment in China to bring about an exodus without dependence on the Internet,” Yang said.

He said that he often encountered inconveniences during his journey due to the lack of a mobile phone.

For example, he was unable to book a hotel in advance or quickly check a map app. Nor was he able to order a taxi through a ride-sharing service.

Yang found that most stores did not have machines where he could use his bank cards. Sometimes, when he did not have enough cash to pay, he had to walk long distances to find ATMs where he could withdraw money.

He said that to solve these problems, he needs to communicate more with strangers he meets along the way.

“Almost everyone who heard that I don’t use a cell phone was shocked,” Yang said.

“Some asked if I was doing something bad, others wondered if I had a special purpose, and still others found it interesting to live without a cell phone.”

He said that a cell phone is often a distraction, so he can concentrate on reading books or writing while traveling without a cell phone.

“I’m like an old man who has traveled through time to the present day. All these worries and joys excited me. It was definitely a great life experience,” Yang said.

He plans to publish the articles he wrote about the trip in a book and make a documentary based on the films he shot along the way.

Yang’s experience caused a stir on mainland social media.

“He’s great. I can’t live an hour without checking my phone,” someone wrote on Baidu.

“I think it is necessary to have a cell phone with you. It makes life easier and can help you in emergency situations,” said another.