Abstract
Abstract Active faults have special electromagnetic effect and remote sensing characteristics, and exhibit unique imagery marks in satellite images. A comprehensive comparison of images of active faults in eastern China and an analysis of geologic and geomorphic data can tell us some characteristics of fault activity in the area during the neotectonic period: 1) The fault activities of the north‐south tectonic zone, North China and Taiwan were stronger than those of southeastern and northeastern China; 2) the faulting in the north‐ south tectonic zone, North China and Taiwan has continued up to now, and most of the fault activites in southeastern and north‐eastern China have become weaker since the Middle Pleistocene; 3) the activity is unsteady in time, most being intermittent, or episodic, i.e. alternately strong and weak; 4) most active faults of a definite size can be divided into several segments which somewhat differ from each other in the characteristics of the activity.