China has promised tough punishment for knife-wielding attackers who killed 29 people in an unprecedented train station rampage, blaming separatists from Xinjiang, as witnesses described a city in shock.
Victims spoke of black-clad attackers slashing indiscriminately as people queued to buy tickets late on Saturday at Kunming station, in an incident that lasted about half an hour.
More than 130 were wounded in the attack, which prompted shock and outrage nationwide.
Police shot dead at least four attackers, arrested one and were hunting for more, said the official Xinhua news agency on Monday, which in a commentary called the incident "China's 9/11" and a "severe crime against the humanity".
A shop worker said some of the victims took refuge in her store.
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"Many were crying and some looked like they had been cut," she said. "We were terrified. Everyone in Kunming is still in shock."
Security chief Meng Jianzhu rushed to Kunming, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, and promised "all-out efforts" to "severely punish terrorists according to the law", Xinhua said.
He "urged forcible measures to crack down on violent terrorism activities", it added.
The English-language state newspaper Global Times described the attack as "China's 9/11".
"The latest attacks in Beijing and Kunming have clearly indicated a despicable trend that separatists are targeting civilians out of Xinjiang.
"It also showed a shift in their attack strategies from targeting symbols of the government, such as public security stations and police vehicles, to roadside civilians."
A heavy police presence was in place at the scene on Sunday as locals left wreaths and held candlelit vigils.
Train services had resumed, Xinhua said, and security screening of passengers and luggage was being carried out.
Security has been increased at the city's Changshui International Airport, and there will be "enhanced" security at schools on Monday, Xinhua said.
The Kunming city government said the attack was orchestrated by separatists from the northwest region of Xinjiang.
Xinjiang, a vast area home to the mostly-Muslim Uighur minority, is periodically hit by violent clashes between locals and security forces, but attacks targeting civilians are rare.
The attack comes months after three members of the same Xinjiang family crashed their car into crowds of tourists in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, killing two people. They then set the vehicle on fire, killing themselves, according to authorities.
The attack also came days before delegates from across the Communist-ruled country gather in Beijing for the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, the rubber-stamp parliament.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned "in the strongest terms" the "terrible attack on civilians", his spokesman said in a statement, adding he "hopes that those responsible will be brought to justice".
