The Xinhua News Agency cited officials as saying 91 people were hospitalized with injuries, including 11 in critical condition.
There was no immediate word on the cause of Thursday's collapse in the village of Yazhuang in Zhejiang province. However, Xinhua said the structure was old and the roof was straining under the weight of a recent heavy snowfall.
"Just a few minutes after I sat down to dine, I heard creaking wood. Then the roof fell in the minute I looked up," Xinhua quoted one of the injured, Chen Dianzhong, as saying.
More than 100 rescue workers, aided by local villagers, pulled dead and injured from the rubble, Xinhua said.