During the past 65 Ma, Earth’s climate gradually stepped into an ice-house from a warm-house condition; during the same period, the topographic trend in China reversed to decline eastward and the coastal-inland gradient of climate similar to the present finally formed.

Based on studies of widely distributed fluvio-lacustrine sediments and eolian deposits, we strives to reconstruct Cenozoic climate over east Eurasia, mainly focusing on the evolution of inland arid regions, origin and development of the Asian monsoon system, and terrestrial ecosystem responses to past global warming.

Over the past decades, we have obtained numerous data for a better understanding of C₃/C₄ vegetation evolution on the Chinese Loess Plateau, tectonics of Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings, drying of the Asian interior, the PETM event, and evolution of the East Asian monsoon.

Our group houses several labs including the stable isotope, biomarker, OSL dating and particle size facilities, and have close cooperation with colleagues in USA, UK, France, Serbia, Poland, Russia, and HK.