A total of 17 people died and 37 others were injured after 56 vehicles piled up on a Beijing-Kunming expressway in North China’s Shanxi province on Monday.
It cited local authorities as saying the injured were in a stable condition.
A rescue operation was launched involving local police, firefighters, doctors and government officials.
Most of the vehicles involved in the accident were large trucks and the cause of the accident was being investigated.
About 200,000 people die on Chinese roads each year, the World Health Organisation says.
Highway accidents are common because of high speeds, aggressive driving and a failure to leave adequate braking distance.
In a bid to improve road safety, the government recently cracked down on the overloading of trucks.
