Yanbian Longding FC

Three years earlier it was still in the third tier, and before that in the fourth, where it came eighth in the China Champions League in 2020.

The team began life in 2017 under a different name and in a different town, as Longjing Hailanjiang. What changed everything was the collapse of Yanbian Funde in 2019: with the region's historic club gone, the newcomer moved into the space it left, took the Hailanjiang name to Yanji, and by 2021 was called Yanbian Longding. Legally it is a new company. In the stands, and in how the province talks about it, it is the continuation.

Home is the Yanji Nationwide Fitness Centre Stadium, 30,000 seats for a second-tier side. The shirts are red at home, white away.

The fixture that matters is against Dalian. Nobody has given the meeting a name. It does not need one. Changchun Yatai is the other date circled in Jilin.

Lee Ki-hyung, a South Korea international as a player, took charge in 2024 and oversaw the climb into the second division and the steadier run of results that followed. He has had the use of Jin Taiyan, a China international born in the region and the club's captain.