Many of the more than 130 people injured in the attack on Saturday were sent to seven hospitals in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province.

Wang Xianlong, a 61-year-old victim, slept in a bed at Kunming No 1 People's Hospital after the doctors spent five hours operating on a 20 cm-long stab wound in his stomach.

At around 9:30pm, Wang, a migrant worker from Baoshan city in Yunnan, and some companions were preparing to take the train to Hebei province when the terrorists attacked.

Wang Dezhu, one of Wang's companions, said the migrant workers wielded bamboo hookahs – long, bamboo water pipes used in rural areas - as a weapon to protect themselves.

One of the migrants workers broke his waist during the fighting, said Wang Dezhu, who looked over the injured last night. He added that Wang Xianlong didn't feel the pain when his abdomen was sliced open by one of the terrorists.

I clearly saw his intestines coming out, [so] I caught them and held them still until the ambulance came to our aid," said Wang Dezhu.

"The people in our group are mostly in their 50s or 60s and cannot defend themselves from attacks like this. It's not safe out there and [now] we won't go to Hebei or other provinces to make a living."