BEIJING/URUMQI, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted the city of Artux in Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at 5:36 a.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC).

The epicenter was monitored at 40.24 degrees north latitude and 77.63 degrees east longitude. The quake struck at a depth of 22 km, the center said.

The places within 20 km around epicenter is sparsely populated. No casualties and loss of properties have been reported so far, according to the regional seismological bureau

The epicenter is 920 km away from the regional capital of Urumqi, and 90 to about 110 km away from nearby counties of Bachu, Akqi and Jiashi, where local people said they were waken up by the jolt.

The bureau has dispatched work groups to the quake-affected areas to carry out a thorough investigation.