Officers were deployed after receiving reports that people were hit by apparent gunfire during a fight on Tuesday night in Chaozhou city, in southern Guangdong province, AFP reported.
"According to a preliminary investigation, two people died at the scene, one died after being sent to hospital and six more were wounded," the police said on its Weibo social media account.
"Police have identified the suspects and are in pursuit," the statement said.
Gun violence is rare in China, where the government tightly restricts ownership of firearms. There are no official statistics on gun-related deaths.