Candlelit vigil at Kunming station after massacre by 'Xinjiang separatists' leaves 29 civilians dead

Twenty-nine civilians hacked to death by rampaging knifemen at one of China's busiest railway stations were remembered at a candlelit vigil on Sunday night as Chinese authorities said "Xinjiang separatists" were to blame for the attack.

At least 33 people were killed and more than 130 wounded when about a dozen men and women dressed in black, some wearing masks, marauded through the station, slashing and stabbing at passengers indiscriminately, just after 9.30pm on Saturday.

City officials described the slaughter as an "organised terrorist attack" by "Xinjiang separatists", although as of Sunday night no evidence had been officially presented to back the claim.

Four attackers - three men and one woman - were shot dead by police at the scene, while another woman suspect was arrested and is currently in custody while receiving medical treatment.

Roads surrounding the train station were sealed off to vehicles until noon, while armed police wearing bullet-proof vests guarded the station’s plaza and patrolled nearby streets where some of the attackers were gunned down.

The attack came ahead of the opening of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Monday and the National People’s Congress on Wednesday.

Watch: Xinjiang separatists behind deadly China rail attack: Xinhua