[3] He was still highly regarded enough to be transferred to Dalian Shide at the start of the 2005 season where, due to his versatility, he would continue to establish himself as a regular and go on win the top tier title in 2005.

Zhao transferred to Guangzhou Evergrande on 26 December 2011 along with Rong Hao, Li Jianbin and Peng Xinli.

[7] Zhao's performances for Sichuan First City in the 2003 season were enough for an immediate call-up to the Chinese national team to play in the 2003 East Asian Football Championship.

[10] Once the tournament ended, he found himself completely dropped from the national team until then manager Gao Hongbo named him in his first game on 29 May 2009 in a 1-1 draw against Germany.

[11] Dalian Shide[2] Guangzhou Evergrande[2] Tianjin Quanjian China PR national football team