Abstract China has a rich record of Holocene volcanism that is relatively little known outside the country. It is encountered in large stratovolcanoes in the NE, linked to subduction of the Pacific plate (e.g. Changbaishan), in smaller volcanoes on the Tibetan margin, associated with the collision of India and Eurasia (e.g. Tengchong, Ashishan), and in more isolated centres, possibly resulting from mantle upwelling (e.g. volcanoes in Hainan island). This makes China a natural laboratory for studies of intraplate volcanism, and significant progress in understanding its nature and origins has been made over the past quarter century. Here, we introduce the first publication in English to provide a comprehensive survey of the state of knowledge and research highlights. Accordingly, we provide an overview of the dynamics, geology, geochemistry, volcanic histories and geophysical studies of 14 volcanic areas associated with the Holocene documented thus far. The special publication represents a benchmark reference on the topic but, as importantly, we hope that it will stimulate new, international collaborations aimed at deepening our understanding of the origins, history, hazards and associated risks of China's volcanoes.

Abstract The Changbaishan volcanic field located on the Gaima (Gaema, Gaiman) Plateau has witnessed plateau-forming eruptions along with the uplift of the Gaima Plateau. The Tianchi basaltic lava shield volcano was formed at the main peak of Changbaishan, with cone construction eruptions that formed a huge and steep trachytic composite cone on the gentle lava shield. At the peak of the Millennium Eruption (ME), the height of the eruption column reached 25 km and the bulk volume of tephra was about 120 km 3 . The ME eventually formed Tianchi caldera, after which several eruptions occurred, albeit of a much smaller scale. The magmas involved in the shield-forming eruptions are characterized by both alkalic series trachybasalt and basaltic trachyandesite and subalkalic tholeiite and basaltic andesite. In the cone-construction and ignimbrite-forming eruption stages, the magma is completely composed of alkalic series trachyte and comendite. The largest negative Eu anomalies observed in ME magmas indicate that plagioclase was strongly crystallized and differentiated.

Abstract The Tengchong Volcanic Field (TVF) is one of the youngest volcanic areas in China, and is located in the southwestern part of Yunnan Province, China, adjacent to the collision zone between the Indian and Eurasian plates. This paper summarizes the results of previous research on the eruption history, petrochemistry and geodynamic background of the TVF and presents a detailed analysis of the available data. Eruptions took place from the Pliocene to the Holocene and were divided into five stages. The composition of the magma went through two cycles: the N 2 − Q P 1 − Q P 2 volcanic rocks went through the evolutionary process from basalt to dacite and the Q P 3 − Qh magma evolved from trachybasalt to trachyte. The evolution of magma is mainly related to the fractional crystallization of pyroxene and ilmenite. The mantle source area of the TVF volcanic rocks was caused by mixing between the mid-ocean ridge basalt-source mantle and the eastern Indian continental margin sediments to different degrees. Geophysical data also showed that the Indian plate has been subducted under the TVF area. There are also magma chambers in the crust within a depth of 25 km in the TVF that are replenished by mantle magma.