Heavy rain that caused mudslides and flooding in southern and central China has left at least 35 people dead and another 13 missing, reports say.

Torrential rain - the worst for 40 years in some parts of the country - has hit at least six provinces, Xinhua news agency and the government say.

But relief could be on the way for some areas as China's National Meteorological Centre said the weather would start to weaken on Sunday.

The southwest province of Guizhou is among the worst affected with 11 people dead and eight missing as of Friday, the government's ministry of civil affairs said in a separate statement.

Fujian province lost five people to mudslides and four to drowning because of the downpours with another two missing, the ministry said.

And in Jiangxi province, five died from buildings collapsing, two in mudslides and one by a lightning strike, it said.

In July last year a single mudslide triggered by days of heavy rain killed at least 14 people in two villages in the southwestern province of Yunnan.