Abstract: The 1303 M8.0 Hongtong earthquake in Yuan Dynasty revealed a series of tectonic and kinematic peculiarities in the Fen-wei rift system. Seismic activity in the region is characterized by quasi-periodicity, southward movement and northward jumping, and recurrence of strong earthquakes. The evolutionary process of rift valley formation, the echelon fractures tectonics, the present-day tectonic stress field and the deep high-temperature bodies are presented and analyzed. In order to gain a deeper understanding of geodynamic processes, it is necessary to broaden the perspective and study the rotation of crustal blocks, including the analysis of the rotation of the Ordos block, the rotational motion of the block in the Central Asian megaregion, the comparison of the Fen-wei and Baikal rift valleys, the distribution of the mantle density, the Himalayan syntaxis and global asymmetries.