LANZHOU, March 13 -- A banquet thrown by a villager in northwest China's Gansu Province seems to have resulted in a mass food poisoning, with 87 of the guests left hospitalized as of Friday afternoon.

Most of the 200 villagers who attended the banquet in Longxi Village, Lanzhou New Area, on Wednesday began to suffer vomiting, diarrhea and stomachache soon after, said the Lanzhou New Area government on Friday.

The host, a man surnamed Cai, had invited his fellow villagers to his home to mark the anniversary of his father's death, the government added.

A total of 165 residents were sent to hospitals after the meal.Seventy-five of them were discharged after initial check-ups, and three more were discharged more recently.

The Lanzhou disease prevention and control center is investigating the cause of their sickness.