In qualifying for the 2016 Shanghai Masters, Mei defeated Sanderson Lam 5–2, Gary Wilson 5–3, Dominic Dale 5–1 and Graeme Dott 5–0 to reach the televised stages in Shanghai.&lt;ref name="2016/17"&gt;&lt;/ref&gt; At the venue, he beat two-time world champion Mark Williams 5–3 to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time in his career. He faced Ryan Day for a place in the quarter-finals, with Day pulling away from 2–2 to win 5–2. Mei defeated Jack Lisowski 6–5 and Martin Gould 6–3 at the UK Championship and then lost 6–4 to Marco Fu. He reached the last 16 of the Welsh Open with victories over Matthew Selt, Peter Ebdon and Mark Allen, but was beaten 4–2 by Robert Milkins.