This is the moment a group of delighted schoolchildren have fun with a small tornado as it twists through their playground in southern China.

The group was filmed having fun at Minzu Primary School, Huaihua, Hunan Province.

Two pieces of footage show a tornado suddenly appearing and spinning and moving in the school playground.

One of the videos, which was taken by a school teacher, shows a whirlwind of white columns swirling in the schoolyard, kicking up dust on the ground.

Within a few seconds, the whirlwind begins panning from the right to the left, slowly getting thicker, and a lot of dust gets lifted off the ground.

Noticing the interesting formation, many children begin playing on the sidelines, passing through the whirlwind and even running straight into it.

The second video shows other pupils excitedly watching the playful group and tip-tapping from joy.

After more than ten seconds, the small tornado gradually dissipates.

The principal of the school, named as Mr Long in local media, told local media that the “tornado” lasted only for more than ten seconds.

The pupils on the playground were having physical education classes at that time, and no one was injured.

And the staff of Mayang County Meteorological Bureau told local media that the “tornado” was actually a dust devil, usually caused by thermal convection, which is a relatively common phenomenon.