An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted the border region between southwestern China and Myanmar Friday evening, according to China's Seismological Forecast Network.

The epicenter was in Dongbiguan Town, about 40 kilometers from the Yingjiang County seat and 20 km from the China-Myanmar border, according to Yang Saiguang, Communist Party chief of the county.

Houses were damaged but there have been no reports of casualties, Yang said.

The quake happened at 8:36 PM (Beijing Time).

The area has been hit by aftershocks, the biggest of 4.0 magnitude, said the Yunnan Provincial Seismological Bureau. A 22-member emergency team has been dispatched by the bureau to the area.

A 7.3-magnitude tremor hit Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture, in the remote northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 6:33 AM Friday. There have been reports of house collapses but no casualties.

(Xinhua News Agency March 22, 2008)