The modern life in the world's major cities is one of hustling and bustling among crowds. Nowhere is that truer than in China, home to some of the world's most populated cities. This has given rise to people seeking out more alone time, a chance to get away from the world and decompress. CGTN's Zheng Chunying managed to get up close with one such person.

Singing karaoke all alone in a small, private room. That's just one of the ways Xiaoying likes to spend her weekends. Away from the pressures that society inevitably brings, she's happiest in her own space, doing her own thing. Wherever she finds herself near crowds of people, she'd much rather keep her distance. But, the irony is, she's not alone. This inward persona has become so common in China, it's being associated with a reclusive cartoon character from Western Europe.

ZHENG CHUNYING BEIJING "The term used is 'jingfen', which is roughly translated as 'spiritually Finnish'. It comes from the Finnish Nightmares comic series, which star a character who is socially awkward and easily embarrassed. The author describes the character as a typical Finn, who appreciates peace, quiet and his own personal space. But is that true? Are Finns really like that?"

I took that exact question to Mr. LINTUNEN, a counsellor of Press and Culture at the Finnish Embassy in Beijing. He said while he could relate to the character's problems in many ways, it didn't necessarily mean that Finns were shy and introverted as the stereotype suggests. He supposed his compatriots just liked their own space more than other nationalities.

JYRI LINTUNEN FINNISH EMBASSY, BEIJING "Because Finland is quite a large country, but has only 5.5 million people living in Finland, that might be one of the reason and in the past there might be less Finnish people than nowadays, everybody has quite a lot of space for themselves."

Personal space is quite a foreign concept for many Chinese, where crowds, queues and waiting lists are the norm across the country. Xiaoying says she's just fed up of the constant interactions and social demands.

XIAOYING "I'm eager for my own personal space and time. Work and compulsory socializing have already taken up so much of my time. I really need a rest, and I don't want to be bothered by social activities."

But is there more to this than just frustration and discontent on Xiaoying's part? One expert says she may have brought it all on herself.

Either way, Xiaoying says she's happy with her current lifestyle and has no interest in changing. Perhaps, it seems, the rest of us need to understand that many people, at least those who identify as "spiritually Finnish", feel more than comfortable on their own and this stickman from Finland has just boosted their resolve to hang out more with me, myself and Irene. ZHENG CHUNYING, CGTN.