A paramilitary police rescue crew stands in a collapsed building in the Sichuan town of Tashui for three minutes of silence as a mark of respect to earthquake victims. (Greg Baker/Associated Press)Panic swept through China's ravaged earthquake zone late Monday after television reports predicted a strong, new quake could soon rattle the region.

Tens of thousands of people streamed onto the streets of the Sichuan capital of Chengdu and nearby Mianyang, as cars streamed out of the city. It followed television and radio reports that an earthquake as strong as 8.0 magnitude, along with a powerful aftershock, would hit Sichuan overnight.

A report on the government's website cited central government seismologists as saying there was a chance aftershocks as strong as magnitude 6.7 could hit Monday or Tuesday, although the notice provided no further explanation.

People fled to the streets, where many say they will spend the night. Some people in Chengdu went into public squares.

The Mianyang Women and Children's Hospital moved patients to the square outside the railway station, setting up beds, medicines trays and tents.

Mourning period begins

Earlier Monday, raid sirens wailed and car horns blared as people across the country began three days of mourning for last week's earthquake victims.

China's busy streets came to a standstill at 2:28 p.m. local time, exactly one week after the magnitude 7.9 quake hit central China. Rescuers briefly halted their work in the disaster zone, where some survivors are still being pulled from the rubble.

People paused for three minutes to bow their heads in silence. Flags across the country will fly at half-mast for three days.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top Communist party leaders were shown on state TV bowing their heads, white flowers pinned to the lapels of their dark suits. Hu had spent three days touring the worst-hit areas of Sichuan province.

In Beijing's Tiananmen Square, thousands of people bowed their heads and began shouting "Long Live China!" thrusting their fists in the air.

The government death toll stands at 34,073, officials said Monday, with roughly 245,000 people injured. More than 29,000 people are missing. Beijing motorists on the six-lane Jianguomenwai Avenue stand beside their cars Monday, honking their horns for three minutes to honour earthquake victims. (Robert F. Bukaty/ Associated Press)

Chinese officials have issued an international appeal for more tents and offered to accept foreign medical teams.

"China requests the international community donate tents as a priority when they donate materials because many houses were toppled in the quake and because it is the rainy season," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement Monday, also thanking the international community for its help so far.

More potential landslides were predicted by China's Central Meteorological Observatory, with heavy rains forecast this week for some areas close to the epicentre.

The appeal came as more than 200 rescue workers were reported buried by mudslides in Sichuan, said China's state news agency Xinhua.

The report said some of the workers had died, but didn't provide any numbers.

In another part of Sichuan, two women were pulled alive from a coal mine, said Xinhua.

Gaming sites, theatres closed

The government-ordered mourning period is an outpouring of state sympathy on a level normally reserved for dead leaders.An earthquake survivor washes his clothes next to a collapsed building in Dujiangyan, southwest China's Sichuan province. (Oded Balilty/Associated Press)

Officials said all internet gaming and entertainment sites have been blocked for the three-day period, while China's National Grand Theatre will cancel or postpone all performances.

Reports said numerous bars, nightclubs, karaoke parlours and movie theatres had shut down beginning at midnight in major cities such as Beijing, Shenyang and Changsha.

Newspapers across China printed their logos in black and some ran entirely without colour. Several front pages were covered in black, with simple messages in white text across the middle: "The nation mourns," "Pray for life" and "National tragedy."

With files from the Associated Press