The China Earthquake Networks Center said the quake hit Wushu county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 am local time, according to the state-run Xinhua press agency, and about 200 rescuers were dispatched to the epicenter.
Six people are reported to have been injured and more than 120 homes have been damaged or collapsed in the freezing cold weather.
Reports added that there were several aftershocks since the main quake, registering up to 4.5 magnitude.
Tremors were felt as far away as the neighboring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakhstan city of Almaty, people left their homes to seek refuge in the street after the quake caused walls to shake and furniture to shift.
Local TV channels in the Indian capital New Delhi reported strong tremors in the city, about 1,400km (870 miles) away.
Tuesday’s earthquake came the day after a landslide buried dozens of people and killed at least eight in the southwest of China.
A December quake in the northwest of the country killed 148 people and displaced thousands in Gansu province.
That earthquake was China’s deadliest since 2014 when more than 600 people were killed in southwestern Yunnan province.
AMK/PR