Xishan coalfield, Shanxi, is located in the northwest of the Qinshui Basin, central North China. It is notable for its varieties of coal rank ranging from high volatile bituminous coals to anthracite as well as having abundant coalbed methane resources. Zircon fission track (ZFT) analyses were carried out on the zircons in 2 Upper Carboniferous and 5 Lower‐Middle Permian sandstones, and vitrinite reflectance of Late Carboniferous and Early Permian coals were measured to determine the timing of thermal events and maximum paleo‐temperatures, which were responsible for coal maturation and coalbed methane generation. Maximum paleo‐temperatures calculated from vitrinite reflectance values reached to about 232 and 223 °C in Late Carboniferous and Early Permian coals, respectively, and the estimated paleo‐temperature gradient was 11.84 °C/100 m, representing an intensive abnormal thermal event. Results of the ZFT dating indicated that 5 samples failed the χ2‐test and 2 samples passed the test. The decomposition results of the 5 samples divided their age populations into 3 periods: (a) older ages (537, 584, and 802 Ma) than sandstones ages, (b) close to or slightly older than their depositional ages (289, 301, and 331 Ma), and (c) younger than the depositional ages (181–215). The 2 samples that passed χ2‐test yield the central ages of 168 ± 7 Ma and 190 ± 8 Ma, respectively, younger than the deposition age. The close to or older ages than the sandstones depositional ages represent the tectonothermal events occurring in their source areas; the younger ages indicate the existence of the postdepositional tectonothermal event. The agreement of the partly annealing temperature zone (210–300 °C) of zircon fission tracks with the calculated maximum paleo‐temperatures from vitrinite reflectance suggests a Late Triassic‐Early Jurassic abnormal thermal event with the formation time of the present coal rank being 181–215 Ma, rather than a unique intrusion at 95–135 Ma on the western margin of coalfield as previously believed. Combined with other ZFT ages regionally, this abnormal event also occurred in the southern as well as the northern parts of the Qinshui Basin. The Late Triassic‐Early Jurassic intensive extension in the North China Craton is the geodynamic setting of this tectonothermal event.

The Palaeo‐Asian Ocean (PAO) was located between Siberia and the North China Craton (NCC). The time of its closure, as well as the crustal architecture of the surrounding region, are still uncertain. In this paper, we address these problems using LA‐ICP‐MS U‐Pb ages of zircon grains in three magmatic rocks and three river sand samples of the Guyang area at the northern margin of the NCC. The magmatic rocks yield early Carboniferous crystallization ages of 340.3 ± 7.5 Ma, 331.7 ± 2.3 Ma and 341.1 ± 1.9 Ma for the main granitic pluton, a granodiorite dyke and a diorite enclave, respectively. They were the product of subduction of the PAO underneath the NCC. The detrital zircon U‐Pb ages in the river sand samples are dominated by two groups at 2550–2400 and 290–260 Ma, with subordinate groups at 2700–2600, 2000–1800 and 320–300 Ma, dispersed Early Palaeoproterozoic grains and a minor but important group of Cretaceous grains in sands of the Aibugai River. These results, combined with previous geochronological data, permit a re‐assessment of the tectonic evolution of the northern margin of the NCC. The events at ~2.5 Ga reflect major crustal reworking and cratonization of the northern margin of the NCC, which then became a stable platform lasting until the Carboniferous. The period between 2.0 and 1.8 Ga was characterized by major collisions related to formation of the Khondalite Belt and the Trans‐North China Orogen. In the Carboniferous, subduction of the PAO underneath the northern margin of the NCC developed a zoned distribution of magmatic rocks. The PAO is now constrained to have closed in the Early Permian by the collision of the NCC and Siberia. The youngest group of Cretaceous zircons reflects magmatic events related to lithosphere thinning beneath the Eastern Block of the NCC. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.