Beijing Chengfeng Football Club (Chinese: 北京橙丰) was the final name of a Chinese professional football club that dissolved in 2021. The club’s visual identity is best understood through its longer-lived predecessor, Beijing Renhe, whose orange “Monkey King” crest remained the club’s emblem through the short-lived Chengfeng rebrand.
Design and History
The club that became Beijing Chengfeng was founded in Shanghai in 1995 and underwent multiple relocations and name changes over its history, including stints as Shanghai International, Shaanxi Chanba, and Guizhou Renhe.[1] In January 2012, when the club relocated to Guizhou and became Guizhou Renhe, it introduced a new crest based on the theatrical face-painting (lianpu) of the “Monkey King” (Meihouwang) character from Chinese opera.[2] The club’s primary color was orange, and the crest prominently featured the Monkey King face-painting motif.[3]
When the club moved to Beijing in 2016 and became Beijing Renhe, it retained the Monkey King crest. The emblem included the text “BEI JING RENHE FOOTBALL CLUB” at the top, “RENHEFC” at the bottom, and the Chinese characters “北京人和” above the central Monkey King face.[3]
On January 28, 2021, the club was renamed Beijing Chengfeng to comply with the Chinese Football Association’s neutral-name requirement.[4] The name combined “cheng” (orange), referencing the club’s primary jersey color, with “feng” from Fengtai District, Beijing, where the club was based.[4] The club was dissolved on March 29, 2021, shortly after the rename.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Monkey King face-painting motif drew on the iconic character from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, known as Sun Wukong or the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.[3] The design was widely recognized in Chinese football culture; rival clubs even referenced it in match posters, such as Tianjin Teda’s 2018 pre-match artwork depicting the Monkey King beneath a mountain, a direct allusion to the club’s crest.[6]
Orange served as the club’s dominant color throughout the Renhe and Chengfeng periods, carried over from the jersey color scheme.[4]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
