Eyewitness footage shows a funnel-shaped column ripping through Shandong province.
Rescue operations are under way, after the tornado killed one person and injured 79 people, according to the Dongming Emergency Management Bureau.
China has seen extreme weather conditions in recent months, from searing heatwaves to torrential rain.
Authorities said that 2,820 houses, 48 power supply lines and over 4,000 hectares of crops were damaged. Communication, power and water supplies have since been restored, state media said.
Tornadoes are usually seen in China’s southern and coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Jiangsu, according to China Weather News, run by the China Meteorological Administration.
