China Eastern flight MU774, originating from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, was hit with turbulence as it made its way to Kunming in Yunnan province.
The plane landed about 9am local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday, an hour later than scheduled, according to Xinhua. The process lasted about 10 minutes, ' one passenger, named as Zhang Shuqing, told Xinhua.
The news agency said the injuries were caused by "baggage falling or crushing on overhead bins".
An injured passenger surnamed Shang was quoted as saying: "We applauded when the plane landed safely. We feel lucky the plane did not crash".
Of the 26 injured, four are in a serious condition.
This is published unedited from the PTI feed.
"I was on the flight, and I felt like I would not survive", wrote one passenger on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, reports the South China Morning Post.
This latest incident involving China Eastern happened a week after another plane in the fleet - which was bound for Shanghai - diverted because of a huge hole in a part of its left engine.
China Eastern Airlines confirmed the incident on its official microblog account on June 18.
China Eastern Airlines planes sit on the tarmac at Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, China, Jul. 29, 2014.
Passengers aboard an overnight flight from Paris to China got a rude awakening on Sunday when their aircraft hit heavy turbulence en route to China.
