A 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit China's border with Myanmar early on Wednesday, destroying homes and forcing more than a thousand people to evacuate, the US Geological Survey and Chinese state media said.

The tremor struck at 5.35 am, 224 kilometres from the city of Dali in southwest China and 65 kilometres from Myitkyina in Myanmar, according to a statement on the USGS website.

The USGS said the quake was centred at a depth of about eight kilometres.

About 1,200 people were forced to evacuate their homes near the epicentre, an area populated with large numbers of ethnic minorities, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Many homes collapsed in Sudian and several other towns also reported damage, Xinhua reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties, according to the agency.

There were no immediate reports of casualties

An EARTHQUAKE with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 jolted eastern Japan on Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake, at 3.13 pm, was felt in Tokyo.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage and no tsunami warning was issued.