A knife-wielding man went on a rampage at a vocational school in China's eastern province of Jiangsu, killing eight people and injuring 17 others.

Police say the incident occurred at round 6:30 p.m., local time, on Saturday in the city of Wuxi.

Police detained a 21-year-old man at the scene. Based on their initial probe, police say the suspect had attended the school.

Police believe he acted out of anger for not being allowed to receive a graduation certificate after failing to pass exams.

Police suspect he also had complaints about the amount of allowance he had earned during his practical training.

The school's website says the facility was established in 1993 as a vocational school to teach chinaware manufacture.

The incident occurred just days after a hit-and-run incident at a sports facility in the city of Zhuhai, where 35 people died and 43 others were injured.

Following these series of fatal assault incidents at public gathering spaces in the country, Chinese authorities have been on high alert to prevent a sense of unease from spreading through society.