through a westward subduction of the Eastern Block. The timing of the collision event is determined based on the age of crystallisation of the igneous rocks in the region and the age of metamorphism in the Central Orogenic Belt. Kusky also believed that the collision happened right after the rifting event, as seen from examples from orogens in other parts of the world, deformation events tend to happen closely with each other in terms of timing. After the amalgamation of the North China Craton, Inner Mongolia–Northern Hebei Orogen in the Western Block was formed by the collision of an arc terrane and the northern margin of the craton 2.3 billion years ago. The arc terrane was formed in an ocean developed during post-collisional extension in the amalgamation event 2.5 billion years ago. Apart from the deformation event in a local scale, the craton also interacted and deformed in a regional scale. It interacted with the Columbia Supercontinent after its formation. The northern margin of the whole craton collided with another continent during the formation of Columbia Supercontinent from 1.92 to 1.85 billion years ago. Lastly, the tectonic setting of the craton became extensional, and therefore began to break out of the Columbia Supercontinent 1.8 billion years ago. Zhao's Model: the 1.85 Ga Craton Amalgamation Model Zhao proposed another model suggesting the amalgamation of the Eastern and Western Blocks occurred 1.85 billion years ago instead. The Archean time (3.8-2.7 billion years ago) was a time of major crustal growth. Continents started to grow in volume globally during this period, and so did the North China Craton. Pre-Neoarchean (4.6–2.8 billion years ago) rocks are just a small portion of the basement rocks, but zircon as old as 4.1 billion years old was found in the craton. He suggested that the Neoarchean (2.8–2.5 billion years ago) crust of the North China Craton, which accounts for 85% of the Permian basement, was formed in two distinct periods. First is from 2.8 to 2.7 billion years ago, and later from 2.6 to 2.5 billion years ago, based on zircon age data. Zhao suggested a pluton model to explain the formation of metamorphic rocks 2.5 billion years ago. Neoarchean (2.8–2.5 Ma) mantle upwelled and heated up the upper mantle and lower crust, resulting in metamorphism. In the Paleoproterozoic time (2.5–1.6 billion years ago), the North China Craton amalgamated in three steps, with the final amalgamation took