China travel social media site raises C round

The size of the round was not disclosed but local media reported that it amounted to $85 million. Rich Barton, founder of online travel site Expedia, also participated.

Launched in 2005, Mafengwo differs from other Chinese online travel sites in that it allows tourists to share their experiences of hotels, travel routes and visa application processes. The platform also forms partnerships with the likes of Booking, Agoda, Ctrip and eLong that enable users to book hotels and flight tickets online.

As of the end of February, it had provided travel services to more than 80 million users, most of them mobile app users.

Mafengwo generates its revenue from individual travel services, hotel booking commissions and advertising. Last year, it recorded over RMB900 million ($145 million) in transactions.

According to AVCJ Research, the start-up raised $5 million from Capital Today in 2011. Two years later it secured a $15 million Series B round from Capital Today and Qiming.

The new capital will be used to expand the company's independent travel services, providing user-generated content covering more than 60,000 travel destinations.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Early-stage
• Technology
• China
• Venture
• TMT
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• Qiming Venture Partners
• Growth capital
• Consumer