As the powerful 7.8 magnitude quake rocked the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, he and others in the tower block raced for the stairs.

"I heard the vents ruffling and then started to feel the building shake and a couple of bits of the ceiling fell," he told AFP by telephone.

"That's when I said, 'I got to get the fuck out of here'.

"I ran so fast. I thought the building was going to come down on my head," the 30-year-old business consultant added of his heart-pounding race down the stairwell of the city centre Shangrila office building.

"We had a bit of stampeding down the stairwell. It was not fun. A couple of people fell but were able to get up even as people stepped over them.

"Behind me I could here people saying, 'Hurry, hurry.'"

"There were women losing their shoes. All I could think about was the World Trade Centre," said Morgan-Sanjurjo, referring to the collapse of the New York twin towers after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

The quake struck at around 2:30 pm (0630 GMT) with an epicentre located about 100 kilometres northwest of Chengdu.

The tremor was so powerful it shook buildings in Beijing and Shanghai and was felt as far away as Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

After racing down 18 flights of stairs, Morgan-Sanjurjo joined thousands of people on the streets, where the mood was remarkably calm.

"There were a lot of people out on the streets -- people in pyjamas and nightgowns -- but even so, many little restaurants had power and were still dishing out rice," he said.

"I have to say the locals really took it in their stride, saying only 'wow, this was scary.' Put it this way, people's conversations about the concerns of family and friends soon turned to pets and property."

Six hours after the first tremor, Morgan-Sanjurjo was allowed to quickly return to the building to retrieve his cellphone and house keys. Many people had set up camp on the street.

"People are still out on the street but can't get into their buildings as I imagine (authorities) are checking the gas mains."

Cosmetically, Chengdu appeared to have withstood the earthquake well, with only a few signs of damage, he said.

"The city is in very good shape. You can see concrete has fallen from some buildings and glass has broken but the city is generally in fantastic shape.

"You can see some buildings have large cracks and many don't have power."

Ailsa Weymes, a teacher accompanying a group of visiting schoolchildren, said they were on a bus when the quake struck, and thought the shaking was due to the road or the driving.

Later they felt a strong aftershock, registered by the US Geological Survey at 5.8, as they ate in a restaurant.

"We felt it all through our bodies. The tables were moving, the floor was moving, the lights were shaking. It lasted for about 20 seconds. We were in the middle of eating when we were told to get out of the restaurant."

She also reported an air of calm, with one woman wearing traditional dress praying with beads, passing them through her fingers.

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