A 5.0-magnitude aftershock jolted Pengxian County of southwest China's Sichuan Province at 3:28 p.m. Monday, the China Earthquake Networks Center said.
The epicenter of the aftershock is at 31.4 degrees north latitude and 103.8 degrees east longitude in Pengxian, some 20 kilometers from the provincial capital of Chengdu, according to the center.
Xinhua reporters in Chengdu and the neighboring Mianyang City said the strong tremor lasted about 10 seconds.
It was not clear if the aftershock had caused any casualties or negative impact to the dangerous Tangjiashan "quake lake," which posed a threat to 1.3 million people downstream once its dam collapsed.
The lake started to drain water through a manmade diversion channel on Saturday, but the water level was still rising.
Xinhua reporter Li Xuanliang at the scene said the aftershock was also felt in the lake area.
"The second strong aftershock we felt today. We could feel the dam shaking and see rocks rolling down from the mountains by the lake," Li said.
"Experts are keeping a close eye to the lake dam's safety. They said, so far, the dam is still safe."
Xinhua reporter Wang Yang in Wenchuan county seat, epicenter of the 8.0-magnitude quake on May 12, said over his cell phone the aftershock was also felt in Wenchuan.
"It is the strongest aftershock I have experienced in three days. Scared residents rushed out of shaking buildings and tents, gathering in the streets.
"The volunteer who drove us to Wenchuan also got out of his car when the aftershock happened," he said.
"But the panic didn't last long. People here seem to have gotten used to the aftershocks. Some of them have gone inside again."
The traffic in downtown Chengdu was not affected either. But some citizens still stayed outside.
Thousands of aftershocks have hit Sichuan since the 8.0-magnitude quake rocked the province on May 12, triggering landslides to pose a major threat to the transport, communication and reconstruction in the quake-hit areas.
As of Sunday noon, the quake had taken 69,136 lives, injured 374,061 people and left another 17,686 missing. Overall, about 46.16 million were affected.
Source: China Daily
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