Chinese stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sinking 6.97 percent to open at 3,467.4.
The Shenzhen Component Index opened 4.44 percent lower at 10,870.14.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, opened 2.01 percent lower at 2,304.76 points.
Ten minutes after the opening, not a single stock rose in Shanghai, and only three gained in Shenzhen. More than 1,000 shares on the two bourses dived by the daily limit of 10 percent.
More than half of the roughly 2,800 companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen had filed for a trading halt by Wednesday to avoid further losses.
Shares fell across the board in most industries, with aviation manufacturing, medical care, Internet and transportation plunging by the daily limit of 10 percent.
