CHENGDU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, at 12:52 p.m. Monday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 29.59 degrees north latitude and 102.08 degrees east longitude, at a depth of 16 km, the CENC said.

The epicenter is 39 km away from the county seat of Luding and there are several villages within the 5-km range around the epicenter.

The tremor was felt in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, which is 226 km away from the epicenter.