At least 26 people were injured, four seriously, as a China Eastern Airlines flight from Paris was hit by turbulence.
The aircraft was struck as flight MU774 was on its way to Kunming, in the southern Yunnan province.
Passengers suffered broken bones, cuts to the scalp and soft tissue injuries, the Xinhua state news agency reported.
China Eastern Airlines later said it was crucial passengers wear seatbelts as flights descend.
Several passengers’ heads and shoulders reportedly collided with the luggage racks, some luggage racks broke from the impact, and some luggage fell off and hit passengers.
The airline said the Airbus A330 which had taken off from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, landed safely in Kunming.
A week earlier a China Eastern Airlines A330 was forced to turn back to Sydney in Australia after a technical failure which left a hole in an engine casing.