TECTONIC CONSTITUTION AND EVOLUTION OF THE CHINESE CONTINENT

Based on its geological characteristics and evolutionary history,the Chinese continent is di-visible into five major geological domains. The first one is the Tianshan-Khingan Domain in thenorth,composed of a series of folded belts and micro-continental massifs or massifs located atthe rnargins of the Siberian and Tarim-North China plates. To the south of the first one is theTarim-North China Domain,consisting of the Tarim continental massif （to the west）and theNorth China continental massif（to the east）,remaining rather stable during part of the geolog-ical history. The third one situated farther south is the Kunlun-Qinling Domain ,which embod-ies a series of folded and collision folded belts,partly containing some relic micro0continentalmassifs or massifs,being integral parts of the southern marginal belt of the Tarim-North Chinaplate to the north and the northern marginal belt of the South China（Huanan ） plate to thesouth. The fourth one entitled the Sichuan-Yunnan-Qinghai-Tibet Domain in southwesternChina, which comprises several mobile zones located at the western margin of the South ChinaPlate and the northern and north-eastern margins of the Indian Plate of North Gondwana. Thefifth is the South China Dornain,which is composed of the Yangtze continental massif,Nanhuamobile belt,Taiwan mobile belt and Qiongnan micro-continental massif. The Chinese continent has an evolutionary history of over 3. 8 billion years. As an integralpart of the Eurasian continent,it has experienced four evolutionary stages to build up a ″conti-nent″of its own. From over 3. 8 Ga up to 2. 6 Ga B.P. was the stage of continental nucleus for-mation. The second was the stage of the formation of continental massifs , covering the timespan of 2.6 G-800 Ma B.P. The third one was that of the development of the continentalmargins,ranging in time between 800 Ma and 250-205 Ma B.P. And the fourth,i.e, the lastone is the stage of intra-continental massif development,beginning at 250-205 Ma B.P. Fromthe view point of plate tectonics the first and second stages just mentioned may be considered asastage which might be provisionally termed as proto-plate tectonics , the third, one of paleo-plate tectonics and the fourth,the stage of recent or neo-plate tectonics.