# Ning Weichen

Ning Weichen (Chinese: 宁伟辰; born 18 March 1996) is a Chinese footballer who plays as a forward for Zibo Home.

## Club career
### Early career

Born in Shenyang in the Chinese province of Liaoning, Ning began his career with Shenyang Dongjin, before being approached by scouts from Portugal, and moved to the country in April 2014. Having initially played for Mafra, he moved to Loures after a year, where he suffered a muscle tear to his right thigh, keeping him out for six months. Ning signed for Cova da Piedade in August 2016, going on to make his debut three month later in a 2–1 loss to Famalicão. Following a short loan to Tourizense, where he made three appearances, Ning was released by Cova da Piedade.

### Beijing Guoan

He met Li Ming while playing for the Chinese under-19 side against the youth side of Dutch club ADO Den Haag, where Li was coaching, and on returning to China, he joined Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan, where Li was now general manager, in July 2017. He was initially assigned to the club's reserve team, and upon making his debut he stated his intention to play for the first team.
He made just one appearance for Beijing Guoan, coming on as a late substitute for Jin Taiyan in a 1–0 loss to Jiangsu Suning at the end of the 2017 season, but was relegated to the reserve team the following year. So little was his impact on the team over the next two seasons, news website Sohu described a moment where his shot broke a goalframe at a training camp in Portugal as one of his highlights with the club.

### Later career

Ning played for the Xi'an Wolves in the 2021 season, and scored his first goal in professional football for the club in the Chinese FA Cup against Hebei Kungfu in August 2021. He joined fellow China League Two side Zhuhai Qin'ao in 2022, after the dissolution of Xi'an Wolves, scoring only his second goal in senior football in July 2022, in a 2–1 win against Jiangxi Dark Horse Junior.
For the 2023 season he dropped down to the Chinese Champions League to join Xi'an Chongde Ronghai. He remained in the Chinese Champions League the following year with Zibo Home, a move seen as a disappointment by media in China, given his early promise.

## Age fraud

During his time with Beijing Guoan, Ning changed his year of birth from 1996 to 1997, in order to potentially be called up to the China Olympic Team for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. As he rectified the change quickly, he was not punished by the Chinese Football Association.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 15 October 2024.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Cova da Piedade | 2016–17 | LigaPro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tourizense (loan) | 2016–17 | Campeonato de Portugal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2017 | Chinese Super League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2018 | Chinese Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2019 | Chinese Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | 2020 | Chinese Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beijing Guoan | Total | Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Xi'an Wolves | 2021 | China League Two | 15 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| Zhuhai Qin'ao | 2022 | China League Two | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| Xi'an Chongde Ronghai | 2023 | Chinese Champions League | – | – | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Qibo Home | 2024 | Chinese Champions League | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 |

#### Notes

* 1 2 Appearances in the Chinese FA Cup