The Changchun fire department confirmed it received a call at about 3.13pm saying a car had exploded in the basement of a Wanda Shopping Plaza building.
Three minutes later, another blast erupted in a room on the 30th floor of the same building.
One person was found dead and another injured at the scene.
The police are treating the explosions as a “criminal case”.
Earlier, the municipal government confirmed a blast on the 30th floor and said one person had been found dead so far.
A witness dining at a restaurant in the plaza on Hongqi Street said people were asked to evacuate the buildings immediately, Beijing Youth Daily reported. Firefighters are clearing the area for investigation.
“There must have been more than 20 explosions. The shopping mall asked people over the public address system to leave right away, and we ran for our lives,” the woman, identified only by her family name Zhang, was quoted as saying.
She said she saw sparks around her as she ran out.
