At 17 he took the armband at Sichuan Guancheng, the youngest club captain professional Chinese football has had, and the same authority carried him through nine seasons of Guangzhou's title years. Two AFC Champions League crowns in 2013 and 2015, eight Chinese Super League titles between 2011 and 2019, three FA Cups, Chinese Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 76 caps for China. Career record: club career at Sichuan First City, Dalian Shide, Daegu.
| 2003–2004 | Sichuan First City |
| 2005–2008 | Dalian Shide |
| 2009–2009 | Daegu |
| 2010–2010 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| 2011–today | Guangzhou |
China legends whose careers overlapped Xiaoting's
One rank above: Zhang Linpeng at #13.
One rank below: Gao Lin at #15.
China's editorial top five: Sun Jihai · Zheng Zhi · Fan Zhiyi · Hao Haidong · Gu Guangming.