The man has been detained in the provincial capital of Kunming in this connection. He was detained about 200 km from the crime scene, local police said.
It was not immediately clear how the victims were killed, or what the motive was. The bodies were found at different locations in the village. The suspect has given authorities few details of the incident.
The 19 victims from six households included 11 men and 8 women, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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