The country’s National Seismic Network determined the epicenter was in the Qinghai province, where it shook buildings in the remote city of Golmud and the regional capital, Xining.
The official Xinhua news agency reports the shaking toppled several huts in Da Qaidam district near the epicenter.
Da Qaidam is sparsely populated with about 16,000 people, including Mongolians, Tibetans, Muslim Hui and Han, according to the county government's website.
Da Qaidam, which literally means "a big salt lake" in the Mongolian dialect, is rich in mineral resources, with one of the largest lead-zinc mines in western China and several coal mines. No damage was reported at any of the mining operations.
Many people were said to have rushed out of buildings when the quake struck at 9:22 a.m. local time. "Some residents said it was the biggest tremor they felt since the 8.1-magnitude quake jolted Hol Xil in 2001," Luo Zhenggang, an official in Golmud, told Xinhua.