The epicentre of the quake was located 255 kilometres (158 miles) north of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, the National Seismology Bureau said, according to the Xinhua news agency.

Thousands of dwellings in several poverty-strickent areas around the town of Zhaotong were damaged by the earthquake, which struck at 2:49 amFriday), Xinhua said, quoting local mayor Suo Fei.

In October, a quake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hit another part of Yunnan, affecting 189,000 residents in Dayao district, northwest of Kunming.

On Thursday, a quake hit China's northeastern province of Gansu, leaving one dead and 126 injured.

TERRA.WIRE