BEIJING, CHINA - AN EARTHQUAKE with a magnitude of 7.8 struck China's Sichuan province on Monday, less than 100 km from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the US Geological Survey said on its Web site.

The tremor, centred 92 km northwest of Chengdu, was felt as far away as Beijing and Shanghai, where office buildings swayed with the impact.

In Thailand, high buildings shook in the Thai capital of Bangkok after reports of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Sichuan in China.