People in Jiangsu province are among the most prolific users of Alipay, with users in Wuxi, Nanjing, Suzhou and Changzhou all spending more than 100,000 yuan on average last year, according to the data released by Ant Financial, the company that runs Alipay, on Jan 4.

Jiangsu was also the third highest spending province in terms of total transaction volume, behind only South China's Guangdong province and Jiangsu’s neighboring Zhejiang province.

More and more people in Changzhou, especially younger residents, are embracing mobile payment as a lifestyle choice, with many young people often relying exclusively on their smartphones to make everyday purchases.

Ant Financial's data underlines that mobile payment is becoming increasingly popular. In 2016, about 71 percent of all transactions conducted via Alipay went through mobile devices, up from 65 percent the previous year.

"Chinese payment tools have become an essential part of consumers' day-to-day lifestyle," said Yang Yaqiong, senior IT analyst at consultancy Analysys.