A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan, a mountainous province in southwestern China regularly hit by earthquakes, on Monday, the United States Institute of Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Authorities reported no immediate deaths or injuries.
The tremor was recorded at 12:52 p.m. local time (4:52 a.m. GMT), with an estimated depth of 10 kilometers and an epicenter around the city-district of Kangding.
The earthquake was felt in several cities in the province, including the regional capital Chengdu, located some 200 kilometers away.
The tremor was “relatively strong,” a resident who did not give her full name, Ms. Chen, told AFP. “Some of my downstairs neighbors said they felt (it) very clearly,” she added.
A resident of Chongqing, a large municipality-province located more than 400 kilometers from the epicenter, told AFP that the lamps in his apartment had started to shake.
Sichuan, very mountainous and known worldwide for its panda reserves, is generally hit several times a month by earthquakes of varying intensities.
In June, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake had already shaken the province, killing at least four people and injuring dozens.
In May 2008, a very powerful earthquake, of magnitude 7.9, left 87,000 dead or missing in Sichuan. The disaster was a national shock.
Among the victims were thousands of students killed in the collapse of precariously constructed schools. Police at the time arrested activists who were trying to count the precise number of children who died in the disaster.