Earthquake warning notice appeared on Sunday morning
No casualties or serious damage were reported as of Sunday night after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Tangshan, Hebei province, at 6:38 am.
Rescue teams have conducted a survey in the city's Guye district, the epicenter of the quake, which was also felt by residents in neighboring Beijing and Tianjin.
The quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometers, the Ministry of Emergency Management said. The district is about 170 km southeast of Beijing and around 130 km northeast of Tianjin.
Tangshan was destroyed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1976 that killed more than 240,000 people and injured over 160,000.
The 5.1 magnitude quake on Sunday was an aftershock of the 1976 one, and another quake of more than 5 magnitude was unlikely to occur in the area in the short term, Liu Jie, the center's deputy head, told a news conference in Beijing on Sunday afternoon.
The quake that hit Tangshan on Sunday morning caused only minor damage to some older properties
Following Sunday morning's quake, two aftershocks-one of 2.2 magnitude at 7:02 am and the other of 2 magnitude at 7:26 am-hit the district.