Near the end of October, Chen Jiongming, Deng Keng, Peng Reihai and other members of Guangdong's Tongmenghui organized local militias to launch the uprising in Huazhou, Nanhai, Sunde and Sanshui in Guangdong Province.
Revolutionaries intent on overthrowing the Qing dynasty had built bombs, and on 9 October, one accidentally exploded. Sun Yat-sen himself had no direct part in the uprising and was traveling in the United States at the time in an effort to recruit more support from among overseas Chinese. The Qing Viceroy of Huguang, Rui Cheng , tried to track down and arrest the revolutionaries.
The revolt was a success; the entire city of Wuchang was captured by the revolutionaries on the morning of 11 October. That evening, they established a tactical headquarters and announced the establishment of the "Military Government of Hubei of Republic of China". The conference chose Li Yuanhong as the governor of the temporary government. Qing officers like the bannermen Duanfang and Zhao Erfeng were killed by the revolutionary forces.
On 22 October 1911, the Hunan Tongmenghui were led by Jiao Dafeng and Chen Zuoxin. They headed an armed group, consisting partly of revolutionaries from Hongjiang and partly of defecting New Army units, in a campaign to extend the uprising into Changsha. They captured the city and killed the local Imperial general. Then they announced the establishment of the Hunan Military Government of the Republic of China and announced their opposition to the Qing Empire.
On 23 October, Lin Sen, Jiang Qun, Cai Hui and other members of the Tongmenghui in the province of Jiangxi plotted a revolt of New Army units. After they achieved victory, they announced their independence. The Jiujiang Military Government was then established.
After the Xi'an Manchu quarter fell on 24 October, Xinhai forces killed all of the Manchus in the city, about 20,000 manchus were killed in the mass massacre. Many of its Manchu defenders committed suicide, including Qing general Wenrui , who threw himself down a well.
On 29 October, Yan Xishan of the New Army led an uprising in Taiyuan, the capital city of the province of Shanxi, along with Yao Yijie, Huang Guoliang, Wen Shouquan, Li Chenglin, Zhang Shuzhi and Qiao Xi. The Xinhai rebels in Taiyuan bombarded the streets where banner people resided and killed all the Manchu. They managed to kill the Qing Governor of Shanxi, Lu Zhongqi. They then announced the establishment of Shanxi Military Government with Yan Xishan as the military governor. Yan Xishan would later become one of the warlords that plagued China during what was known as "the warlord era".
On 30 October, Li Genyuan of the Tongmenghui in Yunnan joined with Cai E, Luo Peijin, Tang Jiyao, and other officers of the New Army to launch the Double Ninth Uprising. They captured Kunming the next day and established the Yunnan Military Government, electing Cai E as the military governor.
On 31 October, the Nanchang branch of the Tongmenghui led New Army units in a successful uprising. They established the Jiangxi Military Government. Li Liejun was elected as the military governor. Li declared Jiangxi as independent and launched an expedition against Qing official Yuan Shikai.