Guan was born in
Guangzhou on April 12, 1953, though his family would move to
Zhanjiang three years later after the first modern port was established there by the newly founded People's Republic of China as a part of a 14-year-long project. He also lived in
Hong Kong for fourteen years. Football was strong in the port city as he played the sport for Zhanjiang Port Authority Primary School, Zhanjiang Amateur Sports School and the Zhanjiang No. 2 Middle School football team. His success in youth football would result in him representing Zhanjiang in the 1971 youth football tournament. He was then scouted by the coach of
Guangdong play for the senior team as a full-back alongside
Rong Zhixing,
Du Zhiren and
Chen Xirong. Guan played in the
1st Guangdong–Hong Kong Cup and played in a
friendly against
Inter Milan. He would also see the club earn considerable success as they would win the
1975 National Games of China as well as the
1979 National Football League as
captain where the club won both championships before his retirement in 1983. ==International career==