The tremor hit the mountainous border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, near an area still reeling from the May 12 quake which killed at least 70,000 people.

The region has suffered hundreds of smaller but still serious quakes since then.

Saturday's quake injured 467 people and forced 152,000 to flee. Over 250,000 homes were damaged, Xinhua said.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.7, while Xinhua said it measured 6.1. A slightly smaller aftershock hit around 24 hours later, but there were no immediate reports of further damage.

The government was rushing disaster relief to the affected areas, including thousands of tents and blankets. PZH Steel, a listed unit of the Panzhihua steel group, one of western China's top steel makers, said it had incurred some damage from the earthquake but was still checking on the extent.