Following is a chronology of some of the biggest earthquakes in China in recent decades:

May 12, 2008 - An earthquake measuring 7.5 shakes China''s Sichuan province.

March 21, 2008 - An earthquake measuring 7.2 hits the remote northwestern region of Xinjiang; damage was limited.

February 2003 - At least 94 people are killed and more than 200 injured when a quake measuring 6.8 hits sparsely populated Jiashi county in Xinjiang.

January 1998 - At least 47 people are killed and more than 2,000 injured when an earthquake measuring 6.2 rocks Hebei, devastating mud and brick homes in two rural counties.

April 1997 - A strong earthquake measuring 6.6 hits Xinjiang, killing nine people and injuring 60.

January 1997 - An earthquake measuring 6.4 kills up to 50 people and injures more than 40 in Xinjiang.

May 1996 - Earthquake measuring 6.4 rocks Inner Mongolia, killing 15 people and injuring more than 200. Nearly 400 aftershocks follow.

March 1996 - Earthquake measuring 6.9 jolts Xinjiang, killing 26 people, injuring 128.

February 1996 - Earthquake measuring 7.0 wrecks scenic mountain town of Lijiang in Yunnan, killing at least 304 people and injuring more than 16,000.