The tornado hit parts of Suqian City in Jiangsu province at about 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday, AP reported citing state broadcaster CCTV.
It destroyed 137 homes and damaged crop land and farms.
Tornadoes are rare in China but have caused deaths in Jiangsu in recent years. One person in the province was killed in a tornado last year and four died in 2021. Another tornado killed eight people in the city of Wuhan on the same day.
AMK/PR