Shanghai Shenxin Football Club was first established in 2003, under the name Shanghai Hengyuan. Soon after the club's foundation, they showed interest in buying The People's Liberation Army Bayi FC, a team from the top division of Chinese football. A full takeover never transpired. However, Shanghai Hengyuan bought out Bayi's youth team, relocated to Nanchang, Jiangxi and created a combined team, called Nanchang Bayi Hengyuan. The club adopted its current name in 2012 and relocated back to Shanghai due to disappointing crowd support in Nanchang.
After the club's foundation, Shanghai Shenxin began play in the third tier of the Chinese league system. Two consecutive 5th place finishes were followed by a league win in 2005, which gained the team promotion to the second tier. After four years in the second tier, they achieved promotion to the top flight for the first time at the conclusion of the 2009 season.
Major trophies have been out of the reach of the team so far and their third tier title win remains the club's only piece of national silverware. Since reaching the Super League, they have narrowly avoided relegation on several occasions. To date, their best performance in the top flight of Chinese football came in their first season in the division, as they ended the campaign in 13th place.
Chen Zhizhao is amongst the most notable players to have played for Shanghai Shenxin and his prolific goalscoring was vital in keeping the team in the Super League in their first season. The team's current captain is Zhao Zuojun.
Having briefly played at the Jinshan Sports Centre in 2012, the team currently play home games at the Yuanshen Sports Centre Stadium in Shanghai, which first opened in 2000. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 20,000, although it is only able to hold 16,000 spectators for football matches.
