A mysterious white object that suddenly appeared in the sky sparked UFO fears among locals in north-central China.

The phenomenon was captured on video by several residents who spotted it moving above the city of Yinchuan, in Ningxia Region, on the evening of November 1.

The footage shows a strange, glowing object slowly ascending, with a jellyfish-like long tail streaking across the sky.

A similar sight was also reported by residents in Xining city, with the same shape as the one seen in Yinchuan. The images sparked speculations among online users, with some suggesting it might be an extraterrestrial flying object.

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) later stated that what the residents had witnessed was actually the cloud trail of a satellite that was launched into the orbit earlier that day.

CASC staff said: 'On November 1 at 6:50 am, the Long March 6 modified carrier rocket was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, successfully placing the Tianhui-5 satellite into its intended orbit. What citizens encountered was the rocket cloud of Long March 6 in Yinchuan.'