In just his second campaign at City, the Chinese full-back had already gained a cult following for his tireless running.
One thing he wasn’t expected to do as part of Kevin Keegan’s entertaining newly promoted side though was contribute regularly with goals.
His first in a City shirt came in a trip to Birmingham City’s St Andrews on 26 October 2002 - bursting forward from the back and meeting Eyal Berkovic’s cross with a powerful header.
Jihai remained a fan favourite through his time in Manchester, making 151 appearances before leaving at the end of the 2007/08 campaign.
22 years on, former team-mates Nedum Onuoha and Paul Dickov recently caught up with him during our Trophy Tour stop in Beijing.
There they heard about his memories of his time in England and reminisced on some special days, including an unforgettably derby day victory at Old Trafford.
Check out the feature above...
