Typhoon Haiyan struck coastal areas of northern Vietnam on Monday before sweeping on towards China, where it has been downgraded to a tropical low-pressure storm.
One person has been reported dead with seven missing on Hainan island after a boat was cut adrift.
Winds of almost 120 kilometres an hour have been reported along the coast of Guangxi.
In China the main danger is feared to come from rainfall.
The storm has weakened significantly since Haiyan’s peak over the Philippines – but it is still strong enough to cause havoc, disrupting traffic and stranding ships.
Earlier Haiyan struck Vietnam on Monday morning local time, where 650,000 people were evacuated at the weekend as a precaution.
Heavy rain and flooding caused additional problems to the strong winds which uprooted trees and ripped off roofs.
More than ten people were reported killed in Vietnam. State media said the country had escaped the worst but there were complaints in at least one city that people had been alerted too late.
