Forget the undead, it's the mobile device addicts filling the sidewalks that I worry about
Slowly they edge forward, their eyes fixed downward. Their peripheral vision is all but gone, a memory of the life they had before. Now, they merely run on instinct, fueled by a raw desire for braaaaaaaaaains ... well, brain-training apps.
As opposed to the dreaded flesh-eaters in The Walking Dead, the popular comic book and TV show, the "zombies" I encounter everyday on the streets of China are more annoying than scary, and are really only a danger to themselves - unless you count the repetitive strain injury that other pedestrians risk developing from all the tutting and glaring.
I'm talking about smartphone zombies, people who walk while staring at a mobile device, or in other words, the people who have made getting to a subway station in rush hour one big game of human pinball.
I've seen people walking along engrossed in movies or TV dramas on their smartphone or tablet PC who are relying solely on their subconscious memory to navigate busy, narrow and often uneven sidewalks. With earphones applied, they are completely oblivious to the outside world.
Even strong shoulder-to-shoulder contact cannot shake their focus, and if it does their response is usually only a brief look around them, as if waking from a long coma, before their eyes eventually are drawn back to that small screen.
While they may be irritating, observant pedestrians can actually easily avoid smartphone zombies. The real danger is when they come up against fast-moving traffic.
So far, there is little to no data in China on how many people are being injured, or even killed, because of their less-than-smart behavior in the age of smart technology. What evidence is available is mostly anecdotal.
And it's not just China, of course. In the United States, health and safety agencies have roundly warned against people walking while watching their phones.
Alan S Hilibrand of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recently told the Washington Post that an estimated "60 percent of pedestrians are distracted ... (and are) either on the phone or doing something on their phone".
He said that in May a 68-year-old woman was killed just a few blocks from his hospital in Pennsylvania when she attempted to cross a road while looking down at her iPad. She was knocked down in Chinatown by an amphibious duck vehicle filled with tourists.
In Tokyo, people walking or on bicycles now cause 41 percent of all cellphone-related accidents, according to an AFP report that cited a senior official with the city's fire department, which runs the ambulance service.
The official said 122 people had been hurt in accidents caused by pedestrians using cellphones between 2009 and 2013, including a middle-aged man who died after accidentally wandering onto a railway line.
Last year, the southwest city of Chongqing unveiled a special lane for smartphone zombies along a 50-meter stretch of road. I'm not sure what the goal was, but the move looked to be more of a tongue-in-cheek publicity stunt than a genuine attempt to address the issue.
The first thing that occurred to me upon hearing the news was: "How will a zombie know it's there?" As they never look up, only a WeChat message or some kind of signal on Candy Crush would alert them to the fact they were in the right or wrong lane.
Small tip: Don't try to play chicken with a zombie when on a collision course; it's as much fun as playing chess with someone with locked-in syndrome.
For me, texting or "WeChatting" while walking is just as hazardous as texting while driving. Hence, pedestrians and motorists should follow the same rule: If it's urgent, pull over to a safe spot, stop, and text away.
When it comes to those watching movies and TV shows, well ... have you heard of podcasts?
