Illegal land grabs in China's southern Guangdong province fell 21 percent last year, state media said Saturday, just days after a bitter land row that grabbed worldwide attention.

Unlawful seizure of land by local governments, who often sell them to developers eager to build new factories or high rises, recently sparked violent unrest in the region.

About 4,100 hectares of land in Guangdong, China's wealthiest province and the country's manufacturing hub, were illegally seized in 2010, down 21 percent year on year, Xinhua said, citing the provincial government.

Of that 600 hectares was farmland, down 55.5 percent from 2009, reflecting official efforts to crackdown on local government collusion with developers.

Despite the progress, Xinhua said the Guangdong government acknowledged that some local governments "seized land for key railway and road projects before getting approval from higher authorities".

This week, an embarrassing stand-off with the government of Wukan village in Guangdong ended after a senior provincial official called villagers' complaints over land seizures "reasonable", and detained protest leaders were let go.

The official also said the government would investigate complaints that Communist officials have been stealing their land for years and release the body of community leader Xue Jinbo, who died in police detention.

Authorities say the 42-year-old man suffered a heart attack, while family members who saw the body said they believed he had been beaten to death.