A landslide in southwestern China has killed 23 people, the provincial government said on Tuesday, as heavy rain hits large parts of the country.

Two people were missing after the landslide in mountainous Sichuan province's Liangshan, while one person was pulled out alive, the government said in a statement on its official microblog.

At total of 71 houses were destroyed in the landslide, it added.

A landslide in June in another part of Sichuan killed 10, with more than 70 still listing as missing.

The summer is traditionally China's storm season, with typhoons battering the east and south coasts and thunderstorms hitting wide swathes of the country.