At the beginning of the 2009 season Xie Zhiyu transferred to Hangzhou Lücheng where he would make his competitive debut against Henan Construction on 5 April 2009 in a 2–0 defeat. Xie would have a difficult debut season and could only score one goal throughout the 2009 campaign, which led to him often finding himself playing as a substitute. When Wu Jingui was introduced as the team's new Head coach he moved Xie into midfield and the player would finally settle within the Hangzhou team as a regular.