A man in northeast China has killed himself and three others in a suicide bombing sparked by marital problems, local media said on Tuesday.

The man, surnamed Feng, broke into a restaurant on Saturday in Jixi city in Heilongjiang province and shouted loudly before setting off the explosives, the Beijing News said.

"He was the husband of a waitress at the restaurant and had had an urge to retaliate because of marital problems," the newspaper said without elaborating.

Four people, including Feng, died on the spot. The blast flattened the restaurant, the paper said, adding another four people were seriously wounded. It did not say if Feng's wife was among those killed or wounded.

Last month, a man strapped with explosives in the same province blew up the wedding of his ex-wife, killing at least nine, state media reported at the time.

China reported 980 criminal cases involving explosions in 2005, according to the Ministry of Public Security.