A strong gale and heavy rain struck the fruit market in Foshan city, Guangdong province, at around 7:00 am (2300 GMT Thursday), Xinhua said, citing local officials.
By Friday evening, 13 people were still in hospital because of their injuries, two of whom were reported to be in a serious condition.
A huge crane collapsed in high winds in Guangdong province last week, killing 18 people at a construction site.
A further 18 were hospitalised following the accident in the city of Dongguan.