Chinese Continental Blocks in Global Paleocontinental Reconstruction during Paleozoic and Mesozoic

The Cambrian to Cretaceous paleomagnetic data from Chinese continental and adjacent blocks were collected using principles to obtain reliable and high‐precision paleomagnetic data and to pay attention to the similarity of paleobiogeography and the coordination of tectonic evolution. The Chinese continental blocks were laid up on the reconstruction of proposed global paleocontinents with almost the same scale. Thus, it can be clearly recognized that the global continents, including Chinese continental blocks, range along latitudes on the southern side of the equator during the Early Paleozoic. In the Paleozoic, Chinese continental blocks were still located among the Laurentia, Siberia and Gondwana plates, following the fast moving of the Siberia Plate northwards, the amalgamation in a north‐south direction at the western parts of the Laurentia and Gondwana plates, and the Iapetus and Rheic Oceans were subducted, eventually to form a uniform Pangea in the Late Paleozoic. The Australian and Indian plates of Eastern Gondwana moved and dispersed gradually southwards, continued to extend the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean. The Chinese continental and adjacent blocks were still located in the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean, preserved the status of dispersion, gradually moving northwards, showing characteristics of ranging along a north–south orientation until the Permian. In addition, a series of local collisions happened during the Triassic, and consequently most of the Chinese continental blocks were amalgamated into the Pangea, except for the Gangdise and Himalayan blocks. There was a counter‐clockwise rotation of the Eastern Asian continent in the Jurassic and northwards migration of the Chinese continent in varying degrees during the Cretaceous, but the Himalayan and Indian plates did not collide into the Chinese continent during this period.