"It was a thunderous sound, which made my feet shake. It was like a plane, but much louder than that," she said.
Microblogs about the noise had been posted over 22,000 times by Wednesday evening, and a video uploaded to website 56.com showed a view of the district with a noise like a loud, sustained rumble, which did not vary in pitch or tone.
Shijingshan district meteorological bureau told the Global Times there was nothing unusual in its weather record, while Beijing Earthquake Bureau said it had not detected any earth tremors. Meanwhile, steel maker Shougang Group denied there had been an explosion in its blast furnaces, according to the Beijing Morning Post.
An anonymous staff member from the district government said there had been no accidents or disasters reported.
"The work safety department told us there were no factory accidents," she said.
"The district government has ordered the fire, weather, earthquake and work safety departments to work together to find the source. We understand many citizens have heard the sound. So far no casualties have been reported and the life of residents in our district hasn't been influenced," she said.
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