The Jilin shopping mall was crowded with weekend shoppers

The fire, in eastern Zhejiang province, was caused by worshippers burning incense and paper, officials said.

Another blaze, in the north-eastern city of Jilin, killed 53 people when it swept through a shopping centre on Sunday morning.

A BBC correspondent says the central government is trying to enforce new safety standards to prevent such fires.

The Zhejiang temple was reportedly built to replace a brick structure torn down by officials.

The victims were local women, who often used the temple to pray for their children who had migrated to cities to work, villagers told French news agency AFP.

One villager described the scene of the fire as "absolutely horrible, with dozens of black bodies clumped together".

Investigation

The Jilin fire broke out at the Zhongbai Commercial Plaza on the second floor of the building, which contained a department store, a bathhouse, a billiard hall and a disco.

More than 70 people were hurt, many suffering broken bones after they tried to jump to safety.

It took 260 firefighters four hours to put out the blaze - some firefighters were said to be among the injured.

City officials said an investigation was underway into the cause of the fire and several people were being questioned.

Chinese media reported that the fire seemed to have broken out near the building's boiler room. Other reports said some of the building's emergency exits were locked.

The BBC's Louisa Lim in Beijing says disasters of this kind are becoming a political problem for the country's leadership.

Two weeks ago a stampede at a New Year's lantern festival in Beijing killed 37 people and injured 15 others.