[5] The earthquake hit at 19:05:53 Gansu-Sichuan time (12:05:53 UTC),[6] reportedly 8.25 Mw[7] or 7.8 ML, and was followed by a series of aftershocks for three years.

The often cited magnitude in scientific literature is M 8.5 which has been regarded as an overestimate due to the limited technological advancements and instrumentation during the period which the earthquake occurred.

Damage (VI–X) occurred in seven provinces and regions, including the major cities of Lanzhou, Taiyuan, Xi'an, Xining and Yinchuan.

Many more perished because of cold: frequent aftershocks caused the survivors to fear building anything other than temporary shelters, and a severe winter killed many who had lived through the original earthquake.

[14] The Sufi Jahriyya Muslim Hui leader Ma Yuanzhang and his son died in the earthquake when the roof of the Mosque they were in collapsed in Zhangjiachuan.

[17][18][19] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey.