“…The South Tianshan Orogenic Belt (STOB) is located north of the Tarim Craton and the southwest margin of the CAOB and is characterized by the distribution of ophiolitic mélanges and metamorphic rocks (Figure b). Although some progress has been achieved in the past decades (e.g., Gao, Long, et al, ; Gao, Qian, et al, ; Gao et al, ; B. F. Han, He, Wang, & Guo, ; Huang et al, ; Klemd, John, Scherer, Rondenay, & Gao, ; Wang, Shu, Charvet, Faure, & Ma, ; Zhang, Ai, Li, et al, ; Zhang, Ai, Song, Liou, & Wei, ; Zhong et al, ), controversy still exists regarding the geodynamic setting of the South Tianshan Ocean, the subduction polarity of ocean closure, and the time of the collision. Some authors thought that there was only one single broad basin that is continuously subducted (C. Chen, Lu, Jia, Cai, & Wu, ; Gao, Li, Xiao, Tang, & He, ; Long et al, ; Xiao et al, ).…”