Abstract:Based on the comparison of the difference in summer precipitation variability over East China(east of 105°E) between the four kinds of grid precipitation datasets of PREC, CRU, APHRO and GPCC and observation precipitation data from 756 stations in China during 1951-2010, the reliability and capability of the above four datasetsare investigated and evaluated. Results show that the first three EOF modes of summer precipitation variability over East China is characterized by the meridional distributions with multiple variation centers in Jianghuai valley, Yangtze river valley, North China and southern Northeast China, respectively, which have obvious interannual and interdecadal variabilities, and have more drought than flood. The major periods of precipitation in the Yangtze river valley are 3-7 years and 20-50 years, whereas periods of quasi-biennial and quasi-decade are dominant in both the Jianghuai valley and North China. Additionally, significant interdecadal precipitation changes occur in Yangtze-Jianghuai valley around the late 1970s and in South China around the early 1990s. All the four kinds of grid precipitation datasets are capable of reproducing these variabilities of summer precipitation variability over East China, among which, GPCC is the best due to its more observational stations and more elaborate quality control schemes.