China has been the location of some of the most deadly earthquakes in history . Hundreds of thousands of people were killed by magnitude 8.0 earthquakes in 1303 in Hongdong and 1556 in Shaanxi . This Shaanxi earthquake killed about 830,000 people , many dying with the collages of their underground homes built into loess banks and cliffs . The 20th century saw 273,400 people killed in the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake and a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 1950 , the largest recorded earthquake in China . In 2008 the magnitude 8.0 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed 87,587 people
magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 1950
1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake
Geology of China