Li, however, struggled to break into the Shandong senior team and was instead loaned out to the newly promoted top-tier side Xiamen Lanshi in 2006.
He made his league debut for Xiamen on March 18, 2006, against Shanghai Shenhua in a 2-2 draw where he came on as a substitute for Zou Yougen.
[1] After the game Li gradually became the first-choice defensive midfielder in the team, and the club's manager Gao Hongbo hailed him as the most promising Chinese star among his age.
[3] Within the top tier Li saw even less playing time and only made one appearance throughout the season as the club finished in mid-table.
Li was loaned to China League One side Yunan Lijiang for half season on 10 July 2017.