[2] In the 1998 league season he made his debut for the club and quickly established himself at the heart of the team's defense, guiding them to a 12th-place finish and doing enough to avoid relegation.

[9] In 2008, Li transferred from Shanghai to Wuhan Guanggu due to a lack of playing time for the league runners-up, reuniting him with his former manager Zhu Guanghu who also coached him in the Chinese national team as well as in Shenzhen.

Soon after the transfer, Li was involved in an on-the-field scuffle with Lu Jiang which resulted in him being suspended for eight games by the Chinese Football Association.

[10] Already on the verge of relegation, Wuhan amounted protests against this ruling which the club deemed to be unjust and extremely damaging to its chance to survive in the top flight.

Because of his reputation, high wage demands, gigantic transfer fee, and the unserved eight-game suspension, Li was a hard commodity to move despite being perceived as heads and shoulders above the rest of the Chinese defenders.

Attracting heavy interest from both the Japanese and Korean leagues, Li moved to K-League side Suwon Samsung Bluewings in January 2009, signing a two-year contract for a reported $400,000 and reuniting him with another one of his former managers.

However, Wuhan immediately released statements announcing its intention to obstruct the move if it was not at least partly remunerated and media reports stated that Li would pay his former club himself in order to play for the Korean outfit.

[18] In September 2006, he was banned from the national team for attacking an opposing player and hence earning his sixth red card in fourteen months during an AFC Champions League game with Shanghai Shenhua.