The below-freezing temperature is a concern for rescuers trying to recover earthquake survivors. (Reuters: Tibet Fire and Rescue)
In short:
At least 126 people are dead and 188 injured on the Tibetan side, with no fatalities yet reported by Nepal.
More than 400 people have been rescued but 3,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving survivors without shelter in a below-freezing climate.
What's next?
Rescuers are scrambling to reach survivors trapped under the rubble, who are at risk of hypothermia and dehydration.
More than 400 people trapped by a strong earthquake in the foothills of the Himalayas have been rescued, Chinese officials said, while over 30,000 residents have been relocated, as the search for survivors entered a second day.
The epicentre of Tuesday's magnitude-6.8 quake, one of the region's most powerful tremors in recent years, was located in Tingri in China's Tibet region, about 80 kilometres north of Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.
It also shook buildings in neighbouring Nepal, Bhutan and India.
Twenty-four hours after the earthquake struck, survivors trapped under rubble will have endured a night in sub-zero temperatures and are at risk of succumbing to hypothermia and dehydration.
Sangji Dangzhi, 34, told Agence-France Press (AFP) his supermarket in Tingri suffered considerable damage.
"Here the houses are made from dirt so when the earthquake came … lots of houses collapsed."
An initial survey showed 3,609 homes had been destroyed in the Shigatse region of Tibet, which is home to 800,000 people, Chinese state media reported late on Tuesday, citing local officials.
More than 500 people and 106 ambulances had been dispatched to help the injured.
Rescue teams work amidst rubble in the aftermath of an earthquake. (Reuters: Tibet Fire and Rescue)
At least 126 people were known to have been killed and 188 injured on the Tibetan side, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported.
No deaths have been reported in Nepal or elsewhere.
Temperatures in the high-altitude region dropped to as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius overnight, adding to the misery of those left homeless.
Tents, food rations, electrical generators and other supplies had reached the site by late on Tuesday, and all sections of road damaged by the temblor had been reopened, CCTV added.
Makeshift shelters have been set up in the aftermath of an earthquake. (Reuters: Tibet Fire and Rescue)
The quake struck near one of Tibet's holiest cities.
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said he was deeply saddened and offered his prayers.
"I am deeply saddened to learn of the devastating earthquake… It has caused the tragic loss of many lives, numerous injuries, and extensive destruction to homes and property," the exiled leader said in a statement.
Seismically-active plateau
South-western parts of China, Nepal and northern India are often hit by earthquakes caused by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, which are pushing up an ancient sea that is now the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.
The entire plateau is seismically active, as well as its eastern and northern rims, which overlap with the Chinese provinces and regions of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.
Rescue teams have been working to recover survivors trapped under the rubble. (Reuters: Tibet Fire and Rescue)
Beijing, which administers Tibet as an autonomous region within China, rejects criticism from rights groups and exiles who accuse it of trampling on the religious and cultural rights of the Tibetan people.
More than 500 aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 4.4 had followed the quake, the China Earthquake Networks Centre said.
Over the past five years, there have been 29 earthquakes with magnitudes of 3 or above within 200 kilometres of the epicentre of Tuesday's temblor, according to the Sichuan province's earthquake bureau.
A damaged car lies amidst rubble on the street following an earthquake in Lhatse County, Shigatse. (Reuters)
In 2008 an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan's Chengdu, claiming the lives of at least 70,000 people, the deadliest quake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan quake that killed at least 242,000 people.
Tuesday's quake was the worst since a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in 2023 that killed at least 149 people in a remote north-western region of the country.
Reuters/AFP