BEIJING — A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Tibet's second-largest city on Tuesday morning, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said, shaking the area surrounding Shigatse city at 9.05am (0105 GMT).
The trembler had an epicentre depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), the report added. Tremors were felt as far away as Nepal's capital Kathmandu some 400 km (250 miles) away, according to Indian media, where residents reportedly ran from their houses.
According to China's Nanfang Daily, the earthquake killed at least 36 people. 
A magnitude 6.8 quake is considered strong and can cause severe damage.
Southwestern parts of China are frequently hit by earthquakes. A huge quake in Sichuan province in 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.
According to China's state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or higher within 200 km of the Shigatse quake in the past five years, all of which were smaller than the one that struck on Tuesday morning.
In 2015, a magnitude 7.8 tremor struck near Kathmandu in neighbouring Nepal, killing about 9,000 people and injuring thousands in that country's worst earthquake