We present a surface wave study aimed to resolve the azimuth-dependent propagation velocities of Rayleigh waves (10--184s) in East Asia. The resultant anisotropy patterns demonstrate that East Asia consists of a number of tectonic domains, each displays a characteristic and self-consistent deformation mode. The depth variation of the anisotropy pattern in each domain helps to understand the boundary actions on the lithosphere and the depth-varying deformation styles owing to rheology change.