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Over the past hundred years, remarkable changes occurred around global climate. Two significant characteristics of climate changes are temperature mutation and warming hiatus, which led to a variety of extreme climate events of all scales, such as in the north of China. Therefore, revealing the features and rules of temperature mutation and warming hiatus in northern China could provide some basis to deeply understand climate changes, prevent and mitigate disasters as well as improve ecological environment in northern China and in the whole world. Based on the seasonal (monthly) average minimum temperature, average temperature and average maximum temperature data at 357 meteorological stations in northern China and surrounding areas during 1951-2014, this paper analyzes the spatio- temporal variation of three types of seasonal temperature (the average minimum temperature, average temperature and average maximum temperature) mutation and warming hiatus over northern China by using Mann-Kendall test, slide t test and other methods. The results indicate: according to the average minimum temperature, average temperature and average maximum temperature, the abrupt change of temperature and warming hiatus became late and the cycle from abrupt change to warming hiatus became short as the latitude reduces. In spring and winter, the temperature mutation and warming hiatus in the Northeast China were the earliest (1970s- 1980s, 1993- 2002), in North China were the second and in the Northwest China were the latest (1990s-2000s, 1996- 2010). While in summer and autumn, the temperature mutation and warming hiatus in North China were the earliest, in Northeast China were the second and in Northwest China were the latest (1990s- 2010s). There was little distinction among areas in warming hiatus year. Meteorological stations with no mutation and no hiatus were centralized in mountainous regions, high- latitude areas and southern part of North China Plain where the surrounding areas were relatively late in mutation and warming hiatus. The mutations and warming hiatus of same kinds of temperature became late in the order of winter (1981- 1990), spring, autumn and summer (1994-2008) and winter (1995-2008), autumn, summer and spring (1998-2010). The cycle from temperature mutated to warming hiatus became short in the sequence of winter, spring, autumn and summer, during which the average minimum temperature period was the longest in winter (9- 24 a). The average minimum temperature mutated earliest in spring, summer and winter, which occurred during 1972-1999, 1987-1999 and 1971-2000, the average temperature was the second to mutate, while the average maximum temperature was the latest to mutate which occurred during 1975- 2008, 1994- 2008, 1972- 2006. However, in autumn, the mutation of the average temperature was the earliest (1982-2001), the mutation of the lowest average temperature was the second, and the mutation of the highest average temperature was the latest (1987-2001). The warming hiatus of the average minimum temperature, average temperature and average maximum temperature in spring and summer became late successively, which were during 1994- 2008, 1997-2008 and 1997-2010, respectively, while the sequence was opposite in autumn and winter. The lengths of periods from temperature mutation to warming hiatus in each season in order were that of the average minimum temperature (9-18 a), that of the average temperature and that of the average maximum temperature (5- 12 a). In particular, the three kinds of temperatures all mutated earliest in the southern of North China in summer, which is inconsistent with the rule in the whole area that the mutation became late as latitude decreases, and the temperature at most stations in this area did not mutate, which is also inconsistent with the general rule in the whole area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]