The large number of Palaeolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, ranging from the Early to the Late Pleistocene, has yielded stone artefact assemblages and animal fossils (e.g., Xiaochangliang, Donggutuo), and evidence of animal butchery and fire use (e.g., Xujiayao). The rare sites with hominin fossils conceivably all date to the Late Pleistocene. The lithic technology of the Early and Middle Pleistocene has been described as Oldowan, and produced assemblages with an emphasis on flake tools. Yet some Early Pleistocene artefacts can be compared to Late Pleistocene specimens, perhaps raising questions about the in situ status of a number of sites. In this respect, the role of redeposition, may have been underestimated when reconstructing and evaluating site histories in the Nihewan Basin. Various dating methods, including palaeomagnetic, radiocarbon, and OSL, have provided a framework in which to establish developments in hominin technology. For some sites, including those excavated before modern methods were introduced to fieldwork, different dating methods have resulted in apparently incompatible ages with dates showing wide variation, such as the chronology proposed for Xujiayao. There are also questions how hominin morphology of this site can be accommodated within the Chinese and non-Chinese record, and how this affects interpretations of the pace of human evolution. This presentation aims to concentrate on examining the record of lithic development based on assemblage variation and chronology.