After a tight first half, the defending champions took control after the break and went ahead in the 65th minute when China international striker Han Peng met a cross from Serbian playmaker Aleksandar Zivkovic and headed past Shaanxi goalkeeper Yu Weiliang.

Ten minutes from time, Zivkovic latched onto a pass from Han in the box and fed the ball to an unmarked Li Jinyu, who tapped home his 97th goal in the Chinese league.

With the goal, Li passed the record of the retired Hao, whose 96 goals had been the most by a player since the advent of professional football in China in 1994.

Substitute Lu Zheng added a third goal for the home side in injury time, dribbling past the Shaanxi defence before firing the ball in.

Shandong, who could advance to the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League with a victory at home against Adelaide United of Australia on Wednesday, moved a point ahead of Beijing Guoan, who suffered a 3-1 defeat at Qingdao Zhongneng.

Qingdao ended Beijing's unbeaten record this season with a brace by Liu Jian and a Qu Bo strike.

Beijing defender Zhang Shui scored a consolation goal in stoppage time for the visitors who remained on 16 points, level with Tianjin Teda and Changchun Yatai, who meet on Sunday in Changchun.

Last season's runners-up Shanghai Shenhua stayed fifth after they were edged 1-0 by Liaoning Huludao while Zhejiang Lucheng picked up their second win of the season as they defeated Henan Jianye by the same score.