Marcello Lippi's side, aiming for their fourth successive CSL success, have battled this month, with a home defeat to rivals Guangzhou R&F followed by an AFC Champions League loss against Cerezo Osaka.
And their sloppy 1-1 home draw against Guizhou Renhe on Wednesday gave the second-placed Guoan a chance to move to the top of the table with victory in the Chinese capital on Monday.
All was going to plan for the hosts when Zhang Xishe gave them a sixth-minute lead but their advantage was slashed four minutes before the break.
Brazilian Elkeson – who finished eight goals clear as the league's top scorer last term – has made a habit of scoring crucial goals for his team and this occasion was no different as he levelled proceedings.
Neither side were able to find a winner in the second half but the draw was enough for Evergrande to remain one point clear at the summit.
R&F moved into third with an expected 2-0 win at rock-bottom Harbin Yiteng.
Yiteng, who have won just once this season, had no answer for Jiang Ning, who scored both goals for the victors in the first half.
Shandong Luneng dropped to fourth after a goalless stalemate against mid-table Renhe.
Tianjin Teda won their fourth match in a row as a 1-0 triumph over Shanghai Shenhua helped them climb to sixth.
Li Benijan scored the game's sole goal two minutes before half-time.
Hangzhou's slide down the table continued as second-bottom Henan Jianye came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Wang Song fired Hangzhou just before the break but Xiao Zhi struck with six minutes left to ensure both sides would share the spoils.
Hangzhou – who have kept just one clean sheet this season and conceded a league-high 29 goals – are now winless in five matches, form that has seen them drop to 10th.
Other results saw Jiangsu Sainty edge Shanghai SIPG 1-0, while Liaoning Whowin and Dalian Aerbin could not be separated in a 0-0 draw and Changchun Yatai won 2-0 at Shanghai Shenxin.
