While the club was in the second tier, the Chinese Football Association were starting to demand full professionalism throughout the league. Hubei football team decide to merge with the Wuhan football team to form a fully professional unit in February 1994 and be the sole representative of the Hubei region in the Chinese league pyramid. With former player Yin Lihua as their manager the club gradually improved their league standings and won the second tier title at the end of the 1997 league season.