BEIJING - More than 350 guests at a Chinese village wedding banquet fell violently ill and were taken to hospital, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Altogether 371 people fell ill after eating at the banquet laid on by a villager for his daughter's wedding on Thursday in the southern province of Yunnan.

"Some guests began to suffer symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea," Xinhua quoted a local official as saying. "The number of people feeling sick rose rapidly."

It did not say if the bride and groom were among the sick.

All the victims were taken to hospital and at midday on Friday, 118 people were still undergoing treatment but were out of danger.

The cause of the food poisoning was under investigation, Xinhua said.