The following season would see him play his part in helping the team establish themselves within the Chinese Super League by aiding them to a fifth-place finish.
[2] Without a football club, Ai Zhibo would be allowed to leave for Changchun Yatai at the beginning of the 2009 Chinese Super League season.
[3] Once again Ai Zhibo was used as a squad player within the team and only made four appearances within his debut season.
Things at Changchun did not improve the following season especially with the introduction of Shen Xiangfu coming in as manager who dropped him from the first team.
Ai Zhibo would have to wait during the 2010 summer transfer before another top tier side Jiangsu Sainty took him on loan and reunited him with his former manager at Wuhan, Pei Encai.