There were also close calls in taekwondo and the new speed climbing event, while the nation's women's hockey players extended their run in the competition.
China now has 25 golds to sit second in the medal table behind the United States with 27. Hong Kong, China remains in 24th.
Hou defends weightlifting title with stunning comeback
Reigning champion Hou Zhihui produced a stunning comeback on the final attempt of the evening to retain her 49kg weightlifting title. Mihaela Cambei of Romania thought she had gold in the bag after registering 112kg in the clean and jerk, extending her advantage over Hou to 6kg.
With her back against the wall, Hou had to clear 117kg on her last attempt – 1kg more than her own Olympic record. She completed the clean, then, as the crowd held its breath, mustered just enough energy to execute the jerk.
Li's record-breaking snatch earns gold
China’s Li Fabin defended his gold in the men’s 61kg weightlifting, boosting his chances with a new Olympic record in the snatch category.
Li lifted a combined 310 kg at the South Paris Arena, slightly lower than his record of 313 kg at the Tokyo Games. He successfully lifted 137kg, 140kg and 143kg in the snatch event, with the third lift setting a new Olympic best.
Artistic swimmers claim first ever Olympic title
China's synchronised swimmers have made history in the pool, as they put on a dominant performance on the final day of competition to secure their first-ever gold medal at the Olympics.
That broke a two-decade stronghold by Russia, as the six-time defending champions were banned from the Olympics over the conflict with Ukraine.
First speed climbing silver for China's Deng
Deng Lijuan of China took silver in women’s speed climbing as Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw became the first-ever gold medallist in one of the quickest Olympic events. Miroslaw beat Deng with a time of 6.10 seconds.
Sport climbing was first introduced at the Tokyo Games, where athletes had to participate in all three events – speed, bouldering and lead. The speed discipline has now become a standalone event.
Taekwondo silver for China's Guo in tense final
Guo Qing took silver for China in the women's 49kg taekwondo, losing a tense final to Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand.
Knowing that any mistake could cost them the title, the two fighters started the final two-minute period cautiously, with the first score coming Panipak's way with just 29 seconds left, care of a head kick adjudicated by video replay. Fifteen seconds later, the Thai athlete did the same again.
China's men, women into table tennis semi-finals
China booked places in the semi-finals in both men's and women's team table tennis, with the men beating South Korea and the women overcoming Chinese Taipei.
They'll both be back in action on Thursday.
Shock hockey medal for China
China's women's hockey team will play for a first ever Olympic gold medal after a shock 3-2 shoot-out victory against Belgium, following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
China, who finished only fourth in their group, had already stunned Australia with a 3-2 victory in the quarter-final. They'll take on the Netherlands, another giant of the sport, in the final at 2am on Saturday, Hong Kong time.
Australia, US win pursuit golds as more records fall
Australia won a thrilling men's team pursuit final against Britain, while the United States won the women's team pursuit gold for the first time when they beat New Zealand at the National Velodrome.
World records continued to tumble earlier on day three of track action with Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen again showing why he is regarded as the best track sprinter of his generation with an incredible 200 metres flying lap in qualification for the track cycling sprint.
Lin, boxer in gender dispute, into featherweight final
Lin Yu-ting, one of two boxers at the centre of a gender dispute, moved a step closer to the Olympic title when she beat Turkey's Esra Yildiz by unanimous decision in the women's featherweight semi-final.
Lin, twice world champion, and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif have been in the spotlight over a gender row. The 28-year-old Lin, who is looking to clinch Chinese Taipei's first Olympic title in boxing, faces Poland's Julia Szeremeta in the final on Saturday.
Hall edges Hudson-Smith in thrilling 400m
There was heartbreak for British fans as Matthew Hudson-Smith was pipped at the line in the men's 400m final, with American Quincy Hall storming to a maiden gold on his Olympic debut.
Also on the track, Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali became the first man in nearly a century to win back-to-back 3,000m steeplechase gold medals.
