Abstract: The first movement to establish cross-fault deformation monitoring network began in the Capital Area of China in the late 1960s, mainly laid in a large area around Beijing, covering the main faulting zones. In the past 40 years, several strong earthquakes occurred in the metropolitan area, such as Tangshan M7.8 earthquake in 1976, Datong M6.1 earthquake in 1989, and Zhangbei M6.2 earthquake in 1998. First, we analysed the earthquake reflecting ability of cross-fault deformation observational data in the Capital Area of China, and discussed the earthquake monitoring capability of sites. The results show that: 69.64% cross-fault deformation observation data have better earthquake-reflecting ability on the strong earthquakes occurred, 75.00% monitoring sites have better earthquake monitoring capability on the strong earthquakes occurred, and can better capture the strong earthquake preparation, development, occurrence of precursory anomalies.

Key words: Capital area of China, Cross-fault deformation, Earthquake reflecting ability, Site monitoring capability