On May 21, 2021, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Dali City, Yunnan, China, at a depth of 10.0 km.

Yunnan lies at the southeastern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau where strike-slip faults accommodate crustal rotation resulting from deformation caused by the ongoing collision between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate which formed the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

[citation needed] The Red River Fault caused two deadly earthquakes in 1925 near Dali and another in 1970 in Tonghai county.

Several hours later, an unrelated Mw 7.3 earthquake struck Southern Qinghai province that was felt in the area.

One of the victims, a truck driver, was killed as a result of a rockfall while another woman in a trapped vehicle had leg injuries.