The recent English Open runner-up made his maximum in the 10th frame to level up at 5-5 - after he had led 4-0 - against Martin Gould and force a decider.
However, fellow English cueman Gould kept his composure and a run of 70 carried him through to the third round of the ranking tournament in Daqing as a 6-5 winner.
Wilson's 147 was the 133rd recorded in tournament action. It will earn him a £5,000 bonus plus £3,000 top-break prize unless it is matched this week, in which case the prize pot will be shared.
Judd Trump had breaks of 135 and 127 in seeing off Jimmy Robertson 6-3 in another all-English clash, while Scotland's four-time world champion John Higgins was a 6-2 winner against Welshman Dominic Dale.
Former world champion Neil Robertson survived a major scare as he fought back from 5-2 down to book his place in the last 16.
Robertson scored back-to-back centuries on his way back to 5-5 against world number 41 Matthew Selt, and was given his chance in the decider when the Englishman missed the black as he attempted to split the pack.
The Australian prevailed after a safety battle and told www.worldsnooker.com: "I managed to get going from 5-2 down and in the end, it was a dramatic finish.
"I have been pretty unlucky this season so far, so hopefully this is the sign of things turning round."
Seventeen-year-old Yan Bingtao followed up his famous victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan with a 6-4 win over Ricky Walden, although he had to hold his nerve after losing three successive frames from 5-1.
Ali Carter, Shaun Murphy and Robbie Williams also safely reached the last-16 stage.
Defending champion Mark Selby was tested by fellow Leicester cueman Tom Ford and let a 4-1 advantage disappear before taking successive frames to clinch a 6-4 victory.
TUESDAY OCTOBER 31 Afternoon Session (0630 GMT)
Second round (best of 11 frames)
- Mark Selby 6-4 Tom Ford (Match 41)
- Joe Perry 3-6 Robbie Williams (Match 43)
- Shaun Murphy 6-1 Mei Xi Wen (Match 45)
- Ali Carter 6-1 Stephen Maguire (Match 46)
- Martin Gould 6-5 Kyren Wilson (Match 47)
- Judd Trump 6-3 Jimmy Robertson (Match 49)
- Martin O'Donnell 6-5 Akani Songsermsawad (Match 52)
- Dominic Dale 2-6 John Higgins (Match 56)
TUESDAY OCTOBER 31 Evening Session (1130 GMT)
Second round (best of 11 frames)
- Ryan Day 2-6 Mark Williams (Match 42)
- Matthew Selt 5-6 Neil Robertson (Match 44)
- Robert Milkins 6-4 Oliver Lines (Match 48)
- Liang Wenbo 6-4 Li Hang (Match 50)
- Mark King 5-6 Mark Allen (Match 51)
- Jack Lisowski 6-4 Xiao Guodong (Match 53)
- Yan Bingtao 6-4 Ricky Walden (Match 54)
- Mark Joyce 6-2 Luca Brecel (Match 55)
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