[1] Using the measurements of $726 GPS stations around the Tibetan Plateau, we determine the rigid rotation of the entire plateau in a Eurasia-fixed reference frame which can be best described by an Euler vector of (24.38°± 0.42°N, 102.37°± 0.42°E, 0.7096°± 0.0206°/Ma). The rigid rotational component accommodates at least 50% of the northeastward thrust from India and dominates the eastward extrusion of the northern plateau. After removing the rigid rotation to highlight the interior deformation within the plateau, we find that the most remarkable interior deformation of the plateau is a ''glacier-like flow'' zone which starts at somewhere between the middle and western plateau, goes clockwise around the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis (EHS), and ends at the southeast corner of the plateau with a fan-like front. The deformation feature of the southern plateau, especially the emergence of the flow zone could be attributed to an eastward escape of highly plastic upper crustal material driven by a lower crust viscous channel flow generated by lateral compression and gravitational buoyancy at the later developmental stage of the plateau. The first-order feature of crustal deformation of the northeastern plateau can be well explained by a three-dimensional elastic half-space dislocation model with rates of dislocation segments comparable to the ones from geological observations. In the eastern plateau, although GPS data show no significant convergence between the eastern margin of the plateau and the Sichuan Basin, a small but significant compressional strain rate component of $10.5 ± 2.8 nstrain/yr exists in a relatively narrow region around the eastern margin. In addition, a large part of the eastern plateau, northeast of the EHS, is not undergoing shortening along the northeastward convergence direction of the EHS but is stretching.

We process rigorously GPS data observed during the past 25 years from continental China to derive site secular velocities. Analysis of the velocity solution leads to the following results. (a) The deformation field inside the Tibetan plateau and Tien Shan is predominantly continuous, and large deformation gradients only exist perpendicular to the Indo‐Eurasian relative plate motion and are associated with a few large strike‐slip faults. (b) Lateral extrusions occur on both the east and west sides of the plateau. The westward extrusion peaks at ~6 mm/yr in the Pamir‐Hindu Kush region. A bell‐shaped eastward extrusion involves most of the plateau at a maximum rate of ~20 mm/yr between the Jiali and Ganzi‐Yushu faults, and the pattern is consistent with gravitational flow in southern and southeastern Tibet where the crust shows widespread dilatation at 10–20 nanostrain/yr. (c) The southeast borderland of Tibet rotates clockwise around the eastern Himalaya syntaxis, with sinistral and dextral shear motions along faults at the outer and inner flanks of the rotation terrane. The result suggests gravitational flow accomplished through rotation and translation of smaller subblocks in the upper crust. (d) Outside of the Tibetan plateau and Tien Shan, deformation field is block‐like. However, unnegligible internal deformation on the order of a couple of nanostrain/yr is found for all blocks. The North China block, under a unique tectonic loading environment, deforms and rotates at rates significantly higher than its northern and southern neighboring blocks, attesting its higher seismicity rate and earthquake hazard potential than its neighbors.