The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 3.4 per cent, or 68.82 points, by midday to 1,931.75.
Weekend news of a European bank rescue plan failed to stir buying enthusiasm.
China Vanke, a leading property developer, dropped 4.7 per cent to 5.63 yuan (S$1.21) while Poly Real Estate sank 7.6 per cent to 12.45 yuan.
Expectations that slower growth resulting from the deepening financial crisis will hurt demand continued to drag resource shares lower.
Aluminum Corp of China, or Chinalco, dropped 4.7 per cent to 6.96 yuan; China Oilfield Services plunged by the 10 per cent daily limit to 10.72 yuan and China Shenhua Energy slipped 3.4 per cent to 19.53 yuan.
A rebound in oil prices hit refiners, who are running losses because of a gap between international crude oil prices and government-controlled domestic fuel prices.
Oil and gas conglomerate PetroChina, the Shanghai benchmark's heaviest weighted stock, fell 4.6 per cent to 11.60 yuan while refiner China Petroleum & Chemical, or Sinopec, lost 6.1 per cent to 9.20 yuan. -- AP