Fan had already been a trailblazer at club level after he and compatriot Sun sprang to the attention of Terry Venables during China’s friendly against England ahead of Euro 96, and two years later he recruited the pair during the start of his second spell as Palace manager, with an estimated 100 million fans in Asia watching the pair’s early English exploits.
While Sun only remained at the club during the 1998/99 campaign, Fan stuck around for much longer and would become a fan favourite in south London, making 102 appearances and scoring six goals as well as being voted the Eagles’ Player of the Year in 2001.
He would later summarise his south London stint as featuring "lots of good memories," albeit with one low point: the almost-comical moment he received his first career red card.
"Sometimes for me, I’m not professional. That’s my wrong."
Palace were facing West Bromwich Albion in an eventual 3-2 defeat at the end of 1998. In an incident he would later receive a one-game ban and £750 fine for, Fan appeared to push referee Terry Heilbron as the pair crossed paths towards the end of the match.
Despite this, Fan would go on to captain the Eagles, playing through administration and turning down moves to both Newcastle United and Liverpool to stay in South London.
"You can cut my salary," he says. "I just want to play for the fans.
"I want to stay, I want to finish the season, finish my football and go back to China."
So when the club decided to accept an offer from Dundee for the in-demand international, Fan met an unhappy departure.
He reflects: "[Former Chairman, Simon Jordan,] said: ‘Fan, we can’t keep you at Palace.’
"I talk to my family, I talk to my friends. It’s a difficult option, I didn’t want to go to Dundee. My kids were born in England, they kept their British passports. I started a new life, new football. Everything started at Palace. I just wanted to finish at Palace.
"I saw a lot of fans just standing there with small bits of paper saying: ‘Fan, don’t go. Don’t go.’ I cried. It's the difference."
