Long-period multiple-ScS waveforms from intermediate- and deep-focus earthquakes surrounding China, recorded by the Chinese Digital Seismograph Network, are used to estimate the multiple-ScS attenuation operator and differential travel times using both frequency (phase equalization and stacking) and time domain (waveform inversion) techniques. Theoretical considerations, augmented by synthetic testing, indicate that for continental regions the frequency domain approach yields a more stable estimate of whole mantle attenuation (QScS) than the time domain approach, which is better for whole mantle travel time (&tgr;ScS). When teamed together, the two afford unprecedented success with continental paths. The results, 16 path-averaged estimates of QScS and &tgr;ScS, constitute a significant addition to the catalog of multiple-ScS studies of subcontinental mantle and provide sufficiently dense coverage to invert ''path'' estimates of attenuation and travel time for ''regional'' quantities of direct tectonic relevance. Across the frequency band of 10 to 50 mHz we obtain high (>215) values of regionalized QScS for the Tarim platform and the fold systems of northeastern China and low (<170) values elsewhere on the continent, defining a pattern that is well correlated with present-day levels of tectonic activity.

The corresponding two-way travel time residuals with respect to the Jeffreys-Bullen (J-B) tables, Δ&tgr;ScS (=&tgr;ScS-935.7 s), vary from -1.3¿1.4 to +0.8¿4.3 s and are typical of other ''fast'' continental regions. Unlike QScS,Δ&tgr;ScS varies little from region to region and is correlated poorly with tectonic activity, indicating that QScS is much more sensitive to changes in the current tectonic environment. Offshore, Δ&tgr;ScS for the Sea of Japan is +2.7¿3.6 s and for the combined East China and Philippine seas region is +9.6¿2.7 s. The latter, very large residual likely reflects the low velocities associated with back arc spreading. Throughout the study region, Δ&tgr;ScS correlates well with the residuals predicted by recent upper mantle tomographic models, although the observed variance exceeds the model predictions by roughly a factor of 3.