Stocks fell on Tuesday on speculation that the government may continue its tightening measures after last month's imports rose to a record high and new bank lending increased.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.06 percent, or 26.45 points, to end at 2,471.31.
The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 1.08 percent, or 117.09 points, to finish at 10,775.3.
Combined turnover on the two bourses fell to 94.37 billion yuan (about 14.75 billion U.S. dollars) from 99.1 billion yuan the previous trading day.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 767 to 153 in Shanghai and by 1,122 to 191 in Shenzhen.
China's imports expanded by 30.2 percent to a record 155.56 billion U.S. dollars in August, stoking concerns that surging imports may be bringing inflation into the domestic market from overseas, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
China's commercial banks lent more aggressively in August, with new yuan-denominated loans reaching 548.5 billion yuan last month, up 9.3 billion yuan year-on-year.
Bank shares retreated Tuesday with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest state-owned commercial bank, down 0.96 percent to 4.14 yuan per share. Its rival, the China Merchants Bank, fell 1.35 percent to 11.65 yuan.
Property shares and gold companies posted lackluster performance. The China Vanke Co., the country's biggest developer, dropped 0.12 percent to 8.07 yuan. The Zijin Mining Group, China's top listed gold producer, fell 3.06 percent to 5.07 yuan per share.
Source: Xinhua