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Jing–Hu rivalry

Football rivalry in China From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jing–Hu rivalry
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The JingHu rivalry is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua. It takes place twice a year in the Chinese Super League, and occasionally in the Chinese FA Cup. Both clubs were founding members of the former Jia-A League and the Chinese Super League, and have participated in every edition of China's top-tier professional football league, resulting in the "eternality" of the rivalry.[1]

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Beijing Guoan leads in head-to-head results in official competitive matches with 30 wins to Shanghai Shenhua's 23, with 15 draws as of the match played on 19 July 2025.

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History

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For most of the history of Chinese football, it was difficult to teams to establish deep connections with residents of the cities they are based in. From the 1950s to 1990s, the Danwei system of employment, which was source of employment and material support for the majority of urban residents, restricted people’s interaction with broadaer social organizations. In the same period, domestic games were not played on a regular home-and-away basis but took place only in major cities, resulting in difficulties for fans to access stadiums and games. It was not until the emergence of the professional Chinese league in the 1990s that the national broadaster, China Central Television, started to broadcase games publically, further preventing the build-up of club identity in the early days of Chinese football.[2]

Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua would prove to be different than most Chinese clubs. People in both cities initially engaged with football as early as the 1890s, when the YMCA introduced the game to China’s largest cities ar the time. The various precursers of the two clubs were invloved in national tournaments in the newly-established People’s Republic of China beginning in the 1950s. When the Jia-A League, the first professional Chinese football league, was established in 1994, both Guoan and Shenhua, having been organized in 1992 and 1993 respectively, were founding members. Neither clubs moved cities or suffered relegation in the years since, creating strong foundations for local support and a rich competitive history.[2]

When professionalisation first occurred, most fans' connections to their respective clubs were casual as they watched the games for entertainment. However, as time progressed, supporters of both clubs developed a deep connection with their teams, and the teams became firmly estalished locally. Guoan became the team for Beijing, and Shenhua became the team for Shanghai. Shanghai Port, another Shanghai team that plays in the Chinses Super League, is not afforded the same status to locals as it was established only in 2005 and is perceived to lack a strong identity and connection with the city. In 2014, when Shenhua’s then owner, the Greenland Group, attempted to change the club’s name, 6 major Shenhua supporters’ organization protested the change and forced the name “Shenhua” to remain, showcasing strong connection between the club, its fans, and Shanghai.[2]

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16 March 2012, Beijing Guoan played Shanghai Shenhua at home in the Workers' Stadium.

Today, the match between the two clubs are considered by fans of both teams to be the most important of the season. Victories and losses between the teams carry significance beyond just football and is seen as a competition between the two cities in which the teams are based directly, with Beijing being the capital of China and Shanghai being the nation’s msot populous city and an economic hub. As a result, each encounter between the two sides becomes a focal point in the media, and is sometimes compared to the El Clásico in Spain.[3][4] The intensity of competition on the field between players from both sides is often very high, and the matches themselves receive significant attention from fans.[5] Physical conflicts and confrontations off the field are also reported.[6] Most of Shenhua's attendance records in their home stadiums were achieved when they hosted Guoan, and vice versa. Some Guoan fans say, "Without Guoan, there's no Shenhua; without Shenhua, there's no Guoan. These are the only two teams in China that deserve the title of a national derby." Shenhua fans, on the other hand, say, "Shenhua and Guoan are arch-rivals, but neither can do without the other. Without each other's presence in the league, it would be so boring."[7]

Notable matches

The most noteworthy match between the two teams took place in the 10th round of the 1997 Jia-A League on 20 July 1997, where Guoan defeated Shenhua with a score of 9–1 at home. To this day, this match still holds several records in China's top-tier professional football league.[8]

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Competitive matches

Chinese Jia-A League

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Chinese Super League

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Chinese FA Cup

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Chinese FA Super Cup

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Statistics

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As of 19 July 2025
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Head-to-head ranking in the domestic league (1994–2025)

Beijing Guoan's positions are marked with a green background, while Shanghai Shenhua's positions are marked with a blue background.

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  • Total: Shanghai Shenhua with 16 higher finishes, Beijing Guoan with 15 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2024 season).
  • The biggest difference in positions for Beijing Guoan from Shanghai Shenhua is 11 places in the 2019 season; the biggest difference in positions for Shanghai Shenhua from Beijing Guoan is 8 places in the 2003 season.[note 1]

Records

Top goalscorers

As of 19 July 2025
Bold indicates players currently playing for either clubs, players in italics are still active outside either clubs.
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Zhang Xizhe is the all-time top scorer in Jing-Hu rivalry history with 6 goals.
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Notes

  1. Shanghai Shenhua finished as champions. However, they were later retrospectively stripped of the title on 19 February 2013 for match-fixing. The season's title was not awarded to any club.[9]

References

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