A woman who fell into a sinkhole that opened up in a Chinese street has been left with fractured ribs.

Key points: Victim rescued from pit with rope

Victim rescued from pit with rope Pavement fenced off by local police

Pavement fenced off by local police Second sinkhole to open in city since September

The woman as walking along the pavement in Lanzhou, in the Gansu Province in China's northwest, when the ground below her feet gave way.

A security camera recorded the incident, and the footage circulated on Chinese social media platform Weibo before going viral online.

The footage was viewed more than 500,000 times on one video alone, posted to Facebook by Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.

The hole was roughly 3m wide and a little more than 3m deep, according to a report from BJ News.

Police took to social media to urge people not to go near the pit. ( Weibo: Lanzhou Traffic Police Command Centre )

Bystanders were unable to reach the woman at first out of fear the ground would continue to crumble, however she was eventually rescued from the pit with a rope.

She was taken to hospital, suffering two fractured ribs.

Lanzhou Traffic Police Command Centre warned people against going to the scene to gawk at the hole, fencing off the site to keep onlookers at a safe distance.

It's not the first time the city has seen collapses of this nature, Wenxue City News channel reported.

Two sinkholes opened on the same day in early September, creating chaos on two different roads.

Later that month, a third sinkhole appeared in a Lanzhou intersection, and three people fell into the pit, one of whom died.