Construction of a crematorium has been halted after 500 residents protested in the city of Huazhou, South China's Guangdong Province on Saturday, the government announced in a statement late on Sunday.

"Thousands of people" took to the streets in Ligang township on Saturday demanding the crematorium be cancelled, protesters told the Global Times.

They were met by "many" police officers, the Guangzhou-based newspaper reported on its Sina Weibo on Sunday.

The Huazhou vice-mayor tried to "communicate" with protesters on Saturday but failed to satisfy their demands, Nandu Daily reported, without naming the official who reportedly ended up hiding in a nearby bank.

The vice-mayor actually went for a glass of water, Nandu Daily quoted an unnamed local official as saying.

Nobody had been detained, the government said in a statement published on its website on Sunday afternoon.

The protest had been going on for about four days and there were no conflicts except some traffic congestion, a resident who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

"We received a government paper today, stating that the government will suspend the program and ask local citizens to keep away from illegal activities and maintain social stability," he said.

The crematorium was "only hundreds of meters" away, he said, and people feared it would pollute the air.

"No one told us about the crematorium program and we only got to know they were building a crematorium at the beginning of April when the first floor was already finished," he said.

"People are still standing at the main street and the protest will likely continue tomorrow as we hope the government can cancel the program and tear down the construction not just suspend it."

Rural people are often sensitive about crematoriums as they are related to death, a resident who requested anonymity told the Global Times.

Construction was suspended as local people had "different opinions," said the Huazhou city statement on Sunday.

A Ligang police officer who answered the phone said he knew nothing of the protests and declined to comment.