He played for Shanghai Shenhua, Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG in his native country and spent time on loan at Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Austrian club Austria Wien, he is the first Chinese player to play in the UEFA Champions League.

He made his debut for the club on 17 February 2007 in a 2–0 win against Heracles Almelo, becoming the first ever Chinese footballer to play in the Eredivisie.

He made his European continental debut on 20 February 2007 in a 1–0 win against Arsenal, becoming the first ever Chinese player to play in the UEFA Champions League.

Then manager Ronald Koeman remarked that Sun had an impressive debut and contributed to the game through his good vision and precise passing.

In the 2010 season, he made fourteen appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the second tier and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.