Rare footage of a huge tornadic waterspout appeared in southern China's Beihai city at around 11 am local time on Tuesday (September 17).

The spectacular video shows the huge twister swirling the dust and debris up into the mid-air.

In another video, the twister can be seen moving onto the sea.

Reports said the rare phenomenon lasted for around ten minutes.

People in the video can be heard saying: "Wow it is pretty!"

Tornadic waterspouts are tornadoes that form over water or move from land to water. They have the same characteristics as a land tornado.

9月17日上午11时左右，，广西北海银滩一号出现了难得一见的“龙吸水”现象，巨大的水柱连接着海天不停旋转，看起来十分壮观。“龙吸水”是一种偶尔出现在温暖水面上空的龙卷风，它的上端与雷雨云相接，下端直接延伸到水面，一边旋转一边移动。危险程度不亚于龙卷风，内部风速可超过每小时二百公里。在海面上遇到“龙吸水”时，应尽快躲避。
据北海市气象台台长梁宝荣透露，17日海面上的“龙吸水”景象持续近10分钟，主要是因近期北海天气炎热所形成。“天气持续高温高湿，在温暖的海面上比较容易形成这种水龙卷。”

据梁宝荣介绍，龙卷风常发生于夏季的强对流天气时期，其发生在陆地上的概率较小，但海面上较为常见。