An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale injured at least 159 people and destroyed some 30,000 houses in southwestern China's Yunnan province, state media and local officials said today.
Xinhua news agency said the quake occurred this morning near the town of Shidian in a mountainous region populated by ethnic minorities near China's border with Myanmar.
The local official said it was not immediately clear if there had been any deaths.
He said landslides triggered by the earthquake had closed roads in the region.