Diners fled as tremors shook a restaurant in China.

Dozens of frantic locals having their dinner evacuated the hotpot restaurant following an earthquake in Yinchuan, Ningxia, on February 20.

CCTV footage shows the customers collectively standing up and immediately running outside the establishment.

They can be seen grabbing their coats and possessions while employees assist them out the door.

Other workers sprinted around the room to turn off all the burners on the tables.

The restaurant owner said: 'Every single customer that night came back to pay their bill the next day, and we are very touched by their gestures.'

Short earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of stress along a fault line due to tectonic movements, resulting in brief but intense seismic waves.