The South Australian club earned a valuable away win with a 2-0 victory against Pohang Steelers last week, however their hopes of building a perfect start to the campaign were thwarted by an industrious Changchun side.

The hosts almost took an early lead when Nathan Burns directed Jason Spagnuolo's free-kick narrowly wide of the target after seven minutes.

The Chinese Super League winners recovered from that near-miss and could have taken the lead themselves when first Cao Tianbao sent a shot wide before Reds goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was called upon to save after home defender Diego Walsh deflected a Zhang Xiaofel cross toward his goal.

And on the half-hour mark, forward Zadi Dah flashed an effort wide of the post as the visitors continued to impress.

Adelaide should have taken the lead four minutes after the break when a long throw found Burns, however he could not beat goalkeeper Wang Wanpeng from close range before Bruce Djite headed his follow-up effort wide.

The crossbar denied the hosts in the 65th minute when Diego unleashed a thunderous drive only to see his shot deflect off the frame of the goal.

The visitors began to tire as the game wore on and Adelaide went in search of a winner with Robert Cornthwaite heading over from a Cassio free-kick before Angelo Costanzo was also off target with a close-range header as the game finished goalless.