Chinese officials say a strong earthquake has struck a remote area of the country's far-western Xinjiang region.

The government earthquake monitoring center said the quake registered magnitude 6.2 and hit Sunday evening. It said it was centered 282 kilometers (175 miles) southeast of the oasis city of Hotan. The area is deep in the thinly populated Kunlun mountains.

There were no initial reports of damage or injuries from the quake. However, its depth was measured at a relatively shallow 30 kilometers (19 miles), increasing the likelihood of damage.

The region along the edge of the Himalayan Plateau is one of China's most seismically active.

A pair of magnitude 6.3 and 6.4 quakes hit Iran on Saturday, causing extensive damage and killing at least 250 people.