# 2012 China League One

The 2012 China League One was the ninth season of the China League One, the second tier of the Chinese football league pyramid, since its establishment. It began on March 17, 2012 and ended on October 28, 2012. The size of the league has been expanded from 14 to 16 teams this season.

## Team changes
### Promotion and relegation

Dalian Aerbin as the champion of 2011 season and Guangzhou R&F as runner-up had promoted to the 2012 Chinese Super League. They were replaced by Chengdu Blades and Shenzhen Ruby, who had relegated from the 2011 Chinese Super League after finishing the season in the bottom two places of the table.
Guizhou Zhicheng had relegated to the 2012 China League Two after finishing the 2011 season in last place and lost play-off match against 2011 China League Two 3rd-placed team Fujian Smart Hero. Due to the league's expansion, three teams were admitted into the 2012 China League One. These were the two 2011 League Two promotion final winners, Harbin Songbei Yiteng, Chongqing F.C., and the play-off winner, Fujian Smart Hero.

### Name changes

Shenyang Dongjin moved to the city of Hohhot and changed their name to Hohhot Dongjin in February 2012.

## Clubs
### Stadiums and Locations

| Club | Head Coach | City | Stadium | Capacity | 2011 season |
| Beijing BIT | Bian Lijun | Beijing | BIT Eastern Athletic Field | 5,000 | 13th |
| Beijing Baxy | Cao Xiandong Wang Tao | Beijing | Shijingshan Stadium | 20,000 | 11th |
| Chengdu Tiancheng | Wang Baoshan | Chengdu (playing in Shuangliu) | Shuangliu Sports Centre | 26,000 | CSL, 15th |
| Chongqing F.C. | Zhao Changhong | Chongqing | Chongqing Olympic Sports Center | 58,680 | CL2, 2nd |
| Chongqing Lifan | Tang Yaodong | Chongqing | Fuling Stadium | 22,000 | 8th |
| Fujian Smart Hero | Xu Hui | Xiamen (playing in Fuzhou and Jinjiang) | Fuzhou Stadium Jinjiang Sports Center Stadium (after Round 27) | 23,000 15,000 | CL2, 3rd |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | José Ricardo Rambo | Guangzhou | Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium Guangdong Olympic Stadium (Round 29 & 30) | 25,000 80,012 | 3rd |
| Harbin Songbei Yiteng | Duan Xin | Harbin | Harbin International Conference Exhibition and Sports Center Harbin Institute of Technology Stadium (Round 21) | 50,000 20,000 | CL2, 1st |
| Hohhot Dongjin | Yang Yumin (caretaker) | Hohhot | Hohhot City Stadium | 60,000 | 5th |
| Hunan Billows | Zhang Xu | Changsha | CSUFT East-Garden Stadium Yiyang Olympic Sports Park Stadium (after Round 19) | 18,000 30,000 | 4th |
| Shanghai East Asia | Jiang Bingyao | Shanghai | Shanghai Stadium Jinshan Football Stadium (Round 26) | 65,000 30,000 | 9th |
| Shenyang Shenbei | Liu Zhicai | Shenyang | Shenyang Sport University Stadium | 12,000 | 6th |
| Shenzhen Ruby | Philippe Troussier | Shenzhen | Bao'an Stadium | 40,000 | CSL, 16th |
| Tianjin Songjiang | Hao Haitao | Tianjin | Tianjin Tuanbo Football Stadium | 30,320 | 12th |
| Wuhan Zall | Zheng Xiong | Wuhan | Xinhua Road Sports Center | 32,137 | 7th |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Cho Keung-yeon | Yanji (playing in Longjing) | Hailanjiang Stadium | 32,000 | 10th |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Hohhot Dongjin | Chen Bo (caretaker) | --- | Pre-season | N/A | Chen Bo | Pre-season |
| Chongqing Lifan | Liu Jingbiao | Sacked | Pre-season | N/A | Lawrie McKinna | Pre-season |
| Shenyang Shenbei | Liu Zhicai | Sacked | Pre-season | N/A | Arie Haan | Pre-season |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | Cao Yang | Sacked | Pre-season | N/A | Dragan Kokotović | Pre-season |
| Beijing Baxy | Cao Xiandong | Resigned | Pre-season | N/A | Cui Enlang | Pre-season |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | Dragan Kokotović | Sacked | 27 March 2012 | 6th | Cao Yang (caretaker) | 27 March 2012 |
| Chongqing Lifan | Lawrie McKinna | Sacked | 14 April 2012 | 16th | Tang Yaodong | 19 April 2012 |
| Wuhan Zall | Jose Carlos de Oliveira | Sacked | 24 April 2012 | 8th | Zheng Xiong (caretaker) | 24 April 2012 |
| Shenyang Shenbei | Arie Haan | Resigned | 1 May 2012 | 14th | Li Zheng (caretaker) | 1 May 2012 |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Zheng Xianglong | Sacked | 20 May 2012 | 14th | Jin Guangzhu (caretaker) | 20 May 2012 |
| Hohhot Dongjin | Chen Bo | Sacked | 22 May 2012 | 16th | Yang Yumin (caretaker) | 22 May 2012 |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Jin Guangzhu (caretaker) | --- | 1 June 2012 | 13th | Cho Keung-yeon | 1 June 2012 |
| Wuhan Zall | Zheng Xiong (caretaker) | --- | 14 June 2012 | 4th | Zheng Xiong | 14 June 2012 |
| Shenyang Shenbei | Li Zheng (caretaker) | Resigned | 18 June 2012 | 16th | Huang Yong (caretaker) | 18 June 2012 |
| Beijing Baxy | Cui Enlang | Sacked | 3 July 2012 | 14th | Gai Zengjun (caretaker) | 3 July 2012 |
| Chongqing F.C. | Zhao Faqing | Resigned | 5 July 2012 | 11th | Zhao Changhong | 5 July 2012 |
| Shenyang Shenbei | Huang Yong (caretaker) | Resigned | 10 July 2012 | 15th | Liu Zhicai | 10 July 2012 |
| Chengdu Tiancheng | Niu Hongli | Resigned | 24 July 2012 | 12th | Wang Baoshan | 24 July 2012 |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | Cao Yang (caretaker) | Resigned | 28 July 2012 | 12th | José Ricardo Rambo | 29 July 2012 |
| Beijing Baxy | Gai Zengjun (caretaker) | Resigned | 3 August 2012 | 16th | Cao Xiandong Wang Tao | 3 August 2012 |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | José Ricardo Rambo | As assistant coach | 30 August 2012 | 12th | Cao Yang (caretaker) | 30 August 2012 |

### Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per CL1 team. A team could use three foreign players on the field each game. Players came from Hong Kong, Macau and Chinese Taipei were deemed as native players in CSL.
* Foreign players who left their clubs after first half of the season.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Former Players* |
| Beijing BIT | Lee In-shik | Matías Alonso | Walter Guglielmone | Martín Rodríguez | Vicent Rodrigue |
| Beijing Baxy | Júnior Paulista | Daniel Quaye | Momar N'Diaye | Shin Eun-seok | Saša Mus |
| Chengdu Tiancheng | Johnson Macaba | João Paulo | Valdo | William | Ygor de Souza |
| Chongqing F.C. | Rafael Pérez | Walter Julián Martínez | Chris Killen | | |
| Chongqing Lifan | Brendon Šantalab | Guto | Nei | Nelson Cabrera | |
| Fujian Smart Hero | Johnny Woodly | Vlado Jeknić | Sylvano Comvalius | Park Jung-soo | |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | Dori | Jean Narde | Reinaldo | Mahama Awal | Josip Milardović |
| Harbin Songbei Yiteng | Million Butshiire | Adam Hughes | Rodrigo | Ricardo Steer | Oleksandr Krutskevich |
| Hohhot Dongjin | Luciano Olguín | Yovanny Arrechea | Lee Kil-hoon | Song Tae-lim | |
| Hunan Billows | Astor Henríquez | Emil Martínez | Erick Norales | Claudio Cardozo | |
| Shanghai East Asia | Bruno Camacho | Luis Carlos Cabezas | Ransford Addo | Samir Arzú | Didier Njewel |
| Shenyang Shenbei | José Duarte | Dario Dabac | Vladimir Vujović | | Mustapha Allaoui |
| Shenzhen Ruby | Leandro Guaita | Benjamin Gavanon | Takashi Rakuyama | Babacar Gueye | Rony Flores |
| Tianjin Songjiang | Anderson | Taavi Rähn | Aleksander Rodić | Lee Se-in | |
| Wuhan Zall | Adiel | Vicente | Carlos Ceballos | Julio Gutiérrez | César Valoyes |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | Ivan Božić | Stipe Lapić | Soumaila Coulibaly | Hong Jin-sub | Ronaille Calheira |
Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan players (doesn't count on the foreign player slot)
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 |
| Beijing Baxy | Chen Hao-wei | |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | Chan Siu Ki | Leung Chun Pong |
| Shenzhen Ruby | Chen Po-liang | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Shanghai East Asia (P, C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 59 | Promotion to Chinese Super League |
| 2 | Wuhan Zall (P) | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 29 | +11 | 54 | Promotion to Chinese Super League |
| 3 | Fujian Smart Hero | 30 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 46 | |
| 4 | Harbin Songbei Yiteng | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 53 | 43 | +10 | 45 | |
| 5 | Chongqing Lifan | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 45 | |
| 6 | Tianjin Songjiang | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 45 | |
| 7 | Shenzhen Ruby | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 42 | |
| 8 | Chongqing F.C. | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 41 | |
| 9 | Chengdu Tiancheng | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 41 | |
| 10 | Guangdong Sunray Cave | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 38 | |
| 11 | Hunan Billows | 30 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 38 | |
| 12 | Shenyang Shenbei | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 36 | 38 | −2 | 38 | |
| 13 | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | 30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 34 | |
| 14 | Beijing BIT | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 32 | |
| 15 | Beijing Baxy | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 31 | |
| 16 | Hohhot Dongjin (R) | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 30 | 42 | −12 | 27 | Relegation to China League Two |
* 1 2 3 Harbin Songbei Yiteng 10 pts; Chongqing Lifan 3 pts; Tianjin Songjiang 2 pts
* 1 2 Chongqing F.C. 4–0 Chengdu Tiancheng; Chengdu Tiancheng 2–1 Chongqing F.C.
* 1 2 3 Guangdong Sunray Cave 7 pts, GD: +3; Hunan Billows 7 pts, GD: 0; Shenyang Shenbei 2 pts

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Shanghai East Asia | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wuhan Zall | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Fujian Smart Hero | 7 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Harbin Songbei Yiteng | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Chongqing Lifan | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Tianjin Songjiang | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Shenzhen Ruby | 3 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 |
| Chongqing F.C. | 15 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Chengdu Tiancheng | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Guangdong Sunray Cave | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Hunan Billows | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 |
| Shenyang Shenbei | 11 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 |
| Yanbian Changbai Tiger | 7 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
| Beijing BIT | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Beijing Baxy | 11 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Hohhot Dongjin | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
* Winner; promote to Chinese Super League
* Runner-up; promote to Chinese Super League
* Relegate to China League Two

## Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Babacar Gueye | Shenzhen Ruby | 23 |
| 2 | Johnny Woodly | Fujian Smart Hero | 21 |
| 3 | Wu Lei | Shanghai East Asia | 17 |
| 4 | Chris Killen | Chongqing F.C. | 16 |
| 5 | Brendon Šantalab | Chongqing Lifan | 14 |
| 5 | Guto | Chongqing Lifan | 14 |
| 5 | José Duarte | Shenyang Shenbei | 14 |
| 8 | Vicente | Wuhan Zall | 11 |
| 9 | Ricardo Steer | Harbin Songbei Yiteng | 10 |
| 9 | Bu Xin | Harbin Songbei Yiteng | 10 |

## League attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Hohhot Dongjin | 134,664 | 21,817 | 4,926 | 8,978 | n/a$^†$ |
| 2 | Hunan Billows | 104,554 | 22,316 | 1,510 | 6,970 | n/a$^†$ |
| 3 | Wuhan Zall | 100,522 | 12,987 | 3,153 | 6,701 | n/a$^†$ |
| 4 | Shenzhen Ruby | 96,721 | 9,574 | 3,275 | 6,448 | n/a$^†$ |
| 5 | Yanbian Changbai Tiger | 80,579 | 10,111 | 2,162 | 5,372 | n/a$^†$ |
| 6 | Chongqing F.C. | 70,177 | 16,158 | 1,980 | 4,678 | n/a$^†$ |
| 7 | Fujian Smart Hero | 62,136 | 8,321 | 866 | 4,142 | n/a$^†$ |
| 8 | Chongqing Lifan | 60,650 | 11,550 | 1,051 | 4,043 | n/a$^†$ |
| 9 | Harbin Songbei Yiteng | 60,037 | 5,103 | 1,180 | 4,002 | n/a$^†$ |
| 10 | Shanghai East Asia | 46,702 | 7,177 | 1,211 | 3,113 | n/a$^†$ |
| 11 | Tianjin Songjiang | 44,969 | 5,500 | 1,028 | 2,998 | n/a$^†$ |
| 12 | Chengdu Tiancheng | 30,391 | 5,052 | 820 | 2,026 | n/a$^†$ |
| 13 | Beijing BIT | 22,362 | 2,326 | 500 | 1,491 | n/a$^†$ |
| 14 | Guangdong Sunray Cave | 16,556 | 2,012 | 353 | 1,104 | n/a$^†$ |
| 15 | Shenyang Shenbei | 15,267 | 5,000 | 350 | 1,018 | n/a$^†$ |
| 16 | Beijing Baxy | 12,668 | 3,269 | 321 | 845 | n/a$^†$ |
| | League total | 958,955 | 22,316 | 321 | 3,996 | n/a$^†$ |
Updated to games played on Oct. 28th, 2012 Source: Chinese Football Data (in Chinese)