Lithospheric destruction of the North China Craton (NCC) is a prominent phenomenon during the Mesozoic, but the timing and process are still in dispute. Furthermore, whether the Yangtze Craton (YTC) was also destructed is controversial. Twenty samples collected from the NCC and YTC were subjected to high-resolution Ar-40/Ar-39 geochronological and thermochronological studies. Average cooling rates of 450-150 degrees C were estimated, showing that a rapid cooling event (similar to 12 degrees C/Ma) occurred on the NCC but not on the YTC during the Late Mesozoic. Crustal thickness can be roughly estimated by using pure conductive cooling showing that the crust of the NCC in the Jurassic was thicker than in the Cretaceous. Nonlinear cooling histories and cooling rates obtained by using multidomain diffusion theory show that the upper crusts of NCC and YTC had different cooling patterns during the Mesozoic. Combined with the sedimentation rates on the NCC, we argue that lithospheric thinning of the NCC began in the northern portion at similar to 140-135 Ma and peaked in the central and eastern portions at similar to 125-100 Ma, at a cooling rate of similar to 9.6 degrees C/Ma. In contrast, the YTC cooled gently during 200-75 Ma at a rate of similar to 1.2 degrees C/Ma, implying that the lithospheric thinning did not happen there during this time. Pure conductive cooling suggests that the crust of the YTC in the Late Triassic was thicker than the NCC in the Cretaceous; therefore, we argue that the lithospheric destruction in the YTC might have occurred after similar to 75 Ma.