BEIJING, CHINA (AFP) - A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 struck northwest China on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage in the remote and thinly populated region.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 5:56 am local time, was located 164 kilometres northeast of the city of Golmud in Qinghai province, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres.

The earthquake zone, which is home to ethnic Mongolians and Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, is dotted with coal, tin, lead and copper mines.

In August strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck the same area, sending tremors through the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau China?s Qinghai province and neighbouring Tibet are prone to earthquakes.

In May last year, nearly 87,000 people were left dead or missing when an 8.0-magnitude earthquake shook southwest Sichuan province, which borders both Qinghai and Tibet.