A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has struck a remote, mountainous part of China's southwestern province of Sichuan, killing 13 people, including six tourists, and injuring 175, the provincial government and official media said on Wednesday.

The quake hit a sparsely populated area 200 km northwest of the city of Guangyuan late on Tuesday at a depth of 10 km, according to the US Geological Survey, reported Reuters. It was also close to the Jiuzhaigou nature reserve, a tourist destination.

Sichuan is frequently struck by tremors. A huge quake there in May 2008 killed almost 70,000 people.

A separate quake with a magnitude of 6.6 struck a remote part of China's far northwestern region of Xinjiang, more than 2,000 km away, on Wednesday morning, the Chinese earthquake administration said. The People's Daily said 32 people had been injured in the mostly rural area, the agency added.