An earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit the sea off coast of east Taiwan's Hualien at 8:31 p.m. Beijing time Sunday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The epicenter was monitored at 23.9 degrees north latitude and 121.6 degrees east longitude, with a depth of about 10 kilometers, the center said.

Taiwan's weather bureau said earlier it was a 6.1-magnitude quake and the epicenter depth is about 40.7 kilometers.

The United States Geological Survey monitored the quake was magnitude-5.6 and its epicenter was around 58.1 kilometers deep.

The tremor was felt across Taiwan. A Xinhua reporter at a hotel in Taipei, some 130 km north of Hualien, said she felt there was a tremor for around 30 seconds at around 8:30 p.m.

The quake was also felt in Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen, three cities in Fujian Province.

There has been no report of casualties or damage yet.