My wife and I are sitting in the VIP Lounge in Guilin airport. The gentleman next to us started watching videos on his phone (with wacky musick-y sounds) at full blast. We noticed something similar but a little less distracting in the executive lounge at the Conrad Beijing. My wife (the ever-proper Canadian, despite having lived in the US most of her adult life) is getting irritated. I wonder if this is just normal behavior -- I would have thought that in a culture with so many people, you'd likely be careful about sharing your sounds with others -- but I have seen it a few times on this trip. Is this normal behavior (or at least acceptable behavior) in China?

I'm not bothered -- it seems a little amusing. But, I might be if I were really trying to work.