Shandong Luneng

The rivalry between Guoan and Shandong developed during the early years of China's professional football era. The clubs first met in the inaugural Jia-A League season in 1994, and the fixture began to gain prominence in 1995 when they met four times across league and Chinese FA Cup competition, including a two-legged FA Cup semi-final won by Shandong in the 1995 Chinese FA Cup. In the 1996, Guoan's only home defeat came at the hands of Shandong, and Shandong won both league encounters. However, Guoan managed to best Shandong 4–1 in the Chinese FA Cup final later in the year.

In 1999, Shandong secured its league victory on the final day after Guoan drew at home to Liaoning Fushun. In 2000, former Guoan player Casiano Delvalle signed for Shandong and scored in both league fixtures against Guoan. Xu Yang, Guoan's sole goalscorer in the rivalry that year, went on to sign for Shandong in the following season. In 2002, Delvalle returned to Guoan and scored in Guoan's home win against Shandong. However, Guoan lost to Shandong in the return fixture in November, which resulted in Guoan conceding the top of the league.

In 2006, the two teams faced off six times across different competitions, with Shandong securing a commanding three wins, two draws and one loss. In August, Shandong's Han Peng scored in the third minute at home against Guoan, helping Shandong secure its league title six matchweeks in advance. In 2007, Guoan recorded a 6–1 victory against Shandong in Jinan and won both league fixtures.

During the 2010s, the clubs continued to meet in high-profile league fixtures and domestic cup tie, with Shandong sometimes being described as Beijing's bogey team, citing Shandong's consistent performances against Beijing. However, in the 2018 Chinese FA Cup, Guoan defeated Shandong in the final over two legs on the away goals rule.

In recent years, the rivalry has continued to produce notable results. In April 2025, Beijing defeated Shandong 6–1 at the Workers' Stadium, equalling the largest margin of victory in the history of the fixture, before Shandong responded in the reverse fixture in August with a 6–0 home victory, the largest winning margin between the clubs as of 2026. Guoan players clashed with dissatisfied fans after the match, generating significant controversy.

The terms "turtle" (Chinese: 龟) and "donkey" (Chinese: 驴) have evolved into derogatory representations for the two teams. The term "donkey" was coined from a near-homophone of the first character of Shandong's previous name Luneng to the word for donkey in Chinese, while the term "turtle" draws its inspiration from a turtle's likeness to Guoan's badge.