Heavy rain has brought more misery to western China, killing at least 29 people and trapping more than 10,500 in mudslides and floods, state media reported.

In Longnan, in the poor and remote Gansu province, 20 died and more than 10,000 were trapped following torrential rains and landslides.

Another four died in Gansu's Tianshui city and dozens are missing province-wide.

Rain battered down on teams working to clear debris and mud in Gansu's nearby devastated town of Zhouqu, where more than 1,000 people died when mud roared down the slopes of a mountain last weekend after unusually strong downpours.

More rain is forecasted for Zhouqu over the next few days.

In Sichuan province to the south, mudslides have killed five people and trapped more than 500, Xinhua news agency reported, after rain started falling on Thursday night.

Over 1,000 people have died in floods in central, southern and northeast China so far this year.