BEIJING, Oct 12, 2012 (AFP) - Liang, a former Asian number one now ranked at 353, showed signs of resurgence as he carded four-under-par 67 on the demanding Nanshan International Golf Club course for a two-day total of 135, one better than Australia's Aaron Townsend.
Yang, the South Korean who made history by winning the 2009 US PGA Championship, was among three players tied for third while South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, was eight off the lead.
Liang has experimented with putters, switched drivers and taken to the gym in a bid to recapture the form which took him to joint eighth at the 2010 US PGA Championship -- and he said it was paying off.
"I reached my low point last year, but things are coming back," he said, in comments released by organisers. "I'm 34 years old already, and I now have a good management team to service my needs.
"Now all I need to do is to try my best to live and practice like a player -- that's all -- and wait for the wins to come."
Yang said he was very happy with his round despite a bogey on his last hole, but reckons he will have to go on the offensive to catch Liang.
"Four strokes behind on this course is a big lead, so with that gap I will have to play more aggressively tomorrow," he said.
Oosthuizen headed straight to the range after his second-round 72 left him one over for the tournament and battling to stay in contention.
"It was very disappointing," he said. "I just finished poorly and hit a few very loose shots. I'm not saying the guys at three under don't have a chance, but I've certainly got a bit of work to do."
Leading scores:
135 - Liang Wenchong (CHN) 68-67
136 - Aaron Townsend (AUS) 69-67
139 - Gareth Paddison (NZL) 70-69, Y.E. Yang (KOR) 71-68, Jamie Arnold (AUS) 69-70
140 - Wang Jeung-hun (KOR) 69-71, David McKendrick (AUS) 70-70
141 - Scott Laycock (AUS) 70-71, Mark Brown (NZL) 73-68, Huang Tao (TPE) 75-66, Simon Yates (SCO) 71-70
Selected:
143 - Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 71-72