Mercedes' seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton made it an all-British front row, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso lining up third.
Red Bull's triple world champion Max Verstappen will start only fourth after twice going off in the final top 10 shootout, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz fifth and Red Bull's Sergio Perez sixth.
A big crowd at the Shanghai International Circuit let out a huge roar when hometown hero Zhou Guanyu qualified 10th.
Oscar Piastri was eighth in his McLaren and Zhou's teammate Valtteri Bottas ninth to round out the top 10 on the grid for Saturday's 19-lap shootout.
Hamilton appeared to have secured the pole for Saturday's points scoring 100km race but Norris went to the top of the timesheets in the final seconds with a time of one minute, 57.940 seconds.
The younger Briton then had the lap deleted, putting Hamilton back on provisional pole with a lap of 1:59.201, before it was reinstated moments later.
"It was (wild)," said Norris of the slippery conditions. "It was good fun, it gets your heart going. A nice surprise and a good position for tomorrow."
Saturday's sprint will be followed by qualifying to set the grid for Sunday's 56-lap grand prix, the first in China since 2019.
