Abstract:The Qiangtang block, separated into North Qiangtang Block (NQB) and South Qiangtang block
(SQB) by Longmuco-Shuanghu suture zone, was originated from the northern margin of Gondwana and splitting
from it in the Paleozoic subsequently drifting northward to collide with Laurasia in the Mesozoic. Its drift history
is particularly important to understanding the evolution of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Tethyan geodynamics.
In this paper, we compiled reliable paleomagnetic data from SQB and NQB, establishing an epoch-level Apparent
Polar Wander Path (APWP) for the NQB and a paleolatitude evolution curve for the SQB during the Late
Carboniferous to Late Triassic. The NQB occupied lower-middle latitudes (~20°~30°S) in the Late Carboniferous
to Middle Permian, while the SQB connected with Gondwana until the Early Permian. The SQB spalled from the
northern margin of Gondwana and drifted may have begun in the late Early Permian. By the Middle Permian, its
paleolatitude converged to a similar position as the NQB. Subsequently, they drifted coherently northward at an
average rate of 16 cm/a until early Late Triassic. The drift rate slowed during the Late Triassic. Using
palaeomagnetic result together with other paleomagnetic data and geologic observations, we argue that the main
domain of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean was located between the NQB and the Tarim-North China Block (i. e.,
Jinshajiang Ocean) during the Late Paleozoic. The Neo-Tethys Ocean opened between the late Early Permian and
the Middle Permian and had a width of ~2 000 km at ~265 Ma. In late Middle Triassic to early Late Triassic time,
the Paleo-Tethys Ocean is limited expanse (~1 000 km) and finally completely closed at around ~230 Ma. More
specifically, using paleomagnetic data to precisely characterize the kinematic evolution of the Qiangtang block
can provide important constraints on key scientific issues such as the evolutionary history of the Paleo –Neo-
Tethys Ocean.