A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit China's southwest Sichuan province on Tuesday, close to the area that was devastated by a quake in May, the US Geological Survey said.

One person was killed and 23 others were injured in the tremor in Qingchuan County in Sichuan, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a local official.

The quake's epicentre was 48 kilometres (30 miles) northwest of Guangyuan city in Sichuan at a depth of 10 kilometres, and it struck at 5:49 pm (0949 GMT), according to a statement on the USGS website.

An official with the China Earthquake Administration, based in Beijing, confirmed that an "aftershock" had hit the area.

The quake was felt in Xining city, capital of Qinghai province which borders Sichuan to the northwest, a tourist told AFP by phone.

"We were on the 15th floor, the lamps were swaying and we felt a bit dizzy," said the woman, who did not want to be named.

In Xi'an city in north China's Shaanxi province, people fled into the streets after the quake struck, a tourist told AFP by phone.

Communications in Yaodu township in Qingchuan County were disrupted, a local press officer told Xinhua. There were no other immediate reports of damage.

More than 12,600 aftershocks have rattled the region since an 8.0 earthquake hit on May 12, with at least seven of them above 6.0 on the Richter scale, the China Earthquake Administration has said.

About 70,000 people were killed in the May 12 tremor.

The Olympic torch relay passed through the Sichuan capital of Chengdu on Tuesday, its last leg before reaching host city Beijing, state media said.