The China National Team has been in the spotlight recently as they look to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Starting the third round of qualifying with three consecutive losses saw the team lingering at the bottom of their group with zero points and seemingly no hope of reaching the top international tournament for the first time since 2002.
However, a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Indonesia in Qingdao this past week has the team just two points away from automatic qualification and genuine hope that Team Dragon can once again appear on the world stage.
In honour of the team trying to get back to the glory days of old, here are the top five all-time appearance makers for the China Men’s National Team.
T-4th: Fan Zhiyi
Up first on this list is a true legend of the game who had an impact not just in his home country, but also during a successful spell abroad.
Fan Zhiyi was a stalwart in defence for China for a decade, playing between 1992 and 2002 – retiring after returning from the 2002 World Cup in Korea & Japan, the first and currently last time the country has featured in the tournament.
Capable of playing as a striker when required, something he did to great effect during his time with Shanghai Shenhua in the 90s, Fan Zhiyi represented his country 106 times and scored an impressive 17 goals while predominantly lining up at centre back.
One of China’s many exports abroad in the late 90s/early 2000s, Fan became a cult hero at English club Crystal Palace between 1998 and 2001 – making 88 league appearances for the club in the then-First Division.
He would go on to play for Dundee and Cardiff City while also having spells with other Shanghai-based clubs before eventually retiring in 2006, having spent the past couple of years in a player-coach role with Buler Rangers and Shanghai Zobon.
T-4th: Hao Haidong
In joint-fourth with Fan Zhiyi in appearances made for the China National Team is the current holder for the record number of goals scored for the nation – Hao Haidong.
Born in 1970, Hao Haidong was a dominant force in Chinese football throughout his career. First with the Bayi Football Team, he won the Jia-A League in 1986 and the Chinese FA Cup in 1990 before making a move to Dalian Shide in 1997.
Hao Haidong joined what would become THE Chinese team at the time, helping guide the club to five league titles (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002), one Chinese FA Cup (2001) and three Chinese Super Cups (1997, 2000, 2002) before he too took his talents to England, joining Sheffield United in 2005.
During his time with Dalian, he won many individual accolades, including Player of the Year in 1998 and top goalscorer three times in 1997, 1998 and 2001.
Along with his domestic success, Hao Haidong made 106 appearances for China and netted a record 41 goals – something that could be eclipsed in the near future by Wu Lei, a full 20+ years after his last game for the country.
3rd: Zheng Zhi
While Hao Haidong did not have any success after moving to England, failing to make a league appearance in his time at Brammell Lane, with just one FA Cup appearance to his name before retiring, Zheng Zhi had a fairly positive time himself.
After beginning his career with Liaoning FC, Zheng Zhi played a part in Shenzhen’s 2004 Chinese Super League victory and had a very successful spell with Shandong Luneng Taishan – winning the 2006 CSL and and CFA Cup before moving to Charlton Athletic on loan.
Impressing during his 12-game loan spell saw him move to Charlton on a permanent deal, where he would go on to feature regularly in his first full year in England. A move to Scottish powerhouse Celtic followed after his second season at Charlton failed to live up to expectations before he made his way back to the Middle Kingdom in 2010.
That move saw him join what would become the most dominant team in Chinese football history over the next decade – Guangzhou Evergrande. Playing in the south, Zheng Zhi became club captain and made over 300 appearances en route to nine league titles (including one China League One title), two AFC Champions Leagues, two CFA Cups and four Chinese Super Cups.
Internationally, Zheng Zhi was one of the first names on any teamsheet for the China National Team, making 108 appearances between 2002 and 2019 – becoming just the fourth player to reach the century mark in 2018.
Predominantly a central midfielder, Zheng Zhi netted 15 times for his country and was one of the most consistent performers internationally since the start of the Chinese Super League era.
2nd: Gao Lin
Next up is someone who played alongside Zheng Zhi for the majority of his career, both internationally and at club level.
Gao Lin began his career in the Shanghai Shenhua youth academy, being promoted to the first team and making 85 appearances (20 goals) between 2005 and 2009 – helping the team to the 2007 A3 Champions Cup, the last time the tournament would be held.
His early days at Shanghai Shenhua saw the Zhengzhou, Henan native called up to the China National Team – making his debut the same year he began playing for the Shenhua first team: 2005.
Gao Lin had a hugely successful club career, spent entirely within China, playing 10 extremely profitable seasons with Guangzhou Evergrande between 2010 and 2019.
Alongside Zheng Zhi, the big-spending Guangzhou dominated Chinese football and Gao Lin walked away with a combined 17 medals for the club’s domestic and continental successes – even earning himself three Team of the Year nods in 2012, 2016 and 2017 as well as the China League One top goalscorer award in 2010.
With domestic success came a fruitful and lengthy international career many could only dream of, with Gao Lin earning 109 caps for his country while scoring an impressive 22 times while predominantly playing as a right winger.
He also featured for his country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, although the team could only muster up a 1-1 draw against New Zealand en route to an early exit from the group stages.
He did taste international victory, however, by helping to guide Team Dragon to two East Asian Football Championships in 2005 and 2010.
Beginning his international career three years later as Zheng Zhi, he pipped his former Guangzhou teammate in caps by just one before retiring in 2019 – the last year he played for Guangzhou before moving to Shenzhen to see out the rest of his career, which came to an end in 2022.
1st: Li Weifeng
At the very top of this list is a player whose international appearance record for China could be under threat from current star Wu Lei in the near future, but one that has stood for more than a decade since he stepped away in 2011: Li Weifeng.
Born in Changchun, Jilin Province, Li Weifeng began his playing career as part of the youth setup with Tianjin Locomotive at the age of 12, before eventually making his professional debut for Shenzhen in 1998 at the age of 20.
He became an integral part of Shenzhen’s team and as part of Kejian’s sponsorship deal with English Premier League club Everton, he earned a trial and eventually a loan to the Toffees in 2002.
He made just two appearances on loan in England and promptly returned to Shenzhen, where he returned to being a key player in the heart of defence and guided the club to the 2004 Chinese Super League – the inaugural season after the rebrand.
He joined Shanghai Shenhua in 2006 and spent two seasons there before joining Wuhan Guanggu in 2008. After receiving an eight-match ban for rough play and Wuhan’s subsequent withdrawal from the league, he then spent two years in South Korea with K-League side Suwon Bluewings before returning to China to join Tianjin TEDA – spending the final five years of his playing career there.
During that time, Li Weifeng made 112 appearances for China, scoring 14 times from defence and entrenching himself in the history books as the all-time top appearance maker for his country.
Wu Lei currently sits on 99 caps for China and needs just 13 more appearances to match Li Weifeng’s record and, at 32 years of age, that should happen within the next two years assuming the Shanghai Port striker can remain healthy.
Until that time, however, Li Weifeng remains as the top appearance maker for China and his place within the top five will likely remain for many years to come, with very few current players anywhere near reaching this group of players.