UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

Date of event requiring this shell company report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .report.........................

Commission file number: 001-36430

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act.

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act.

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

269,597,392362,097,257 Class A ordinary shares (excluding 1,851,5611,760,787 Class A ordinary shares, represented by American depositary shares, issued and reserved for the future exercise of options or the vesting of other awards under the 2008 Plan and the 2014 Plan) and 17,373,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value US$0.0001 per share, as of December 31, 2015.2016.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

¨ Yes   x No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

¨ Yes   x No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

x Yes   ¨ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

x Yes   o No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer.filer, or an emerging growth company. See definitionthe definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and large accelerated filer”“emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards † provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.

¨ Item 17    ¨ Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

¨ Yes   x No

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.

¨ Yes   ¨ No

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

In this annual report, except where the context otherwise requires and for purposes of this annual report only:

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This annual report on Form 20-F contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current expectations and views of future events. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “future,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “estimate,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

We would like to caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should read these statements in conjunction with the risk factors disclosed in “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors.” Those risks are not exhaustive. We operate in a rapidly evolving environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is impossible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

This annual report also contains statistical data and estimates that we obtained from industry publications and reports generated by government agencies and third-party providers of market intelligence. These industry publications and reports generally indicate that the information contained therein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but do not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of such information. Although we believe that the publications and reports are reliable, we have not independently verified the data.

PART I

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

The following table presents selected consolidated financial information for our company. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the three years ended December 31, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 20152016 and the consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 20142015 and 20152016 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the year ended December 31, 20112012 and 20122013 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 20132014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this annual report. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future periods. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this annual report. Our audited consolidated financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

The following table presents summary operating data for the years indicated:

Exchange Rate Information

Our business is primarily conducted in China and almost all of our revenues are denominated in Renminbi. However, periodic reports made to shareholders will include current period amounts translated into U.S. dollars using the then current exchange rates, for the convenience of the readers. The conversion of Renminbi into U.S. dollars in this annual report is based on the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers in RMB as certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Board. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to Renminbi in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.4778RMB6.9430 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect as of December 31, 2015.30, 2016. We make no representation that any Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate, or at all. The PRC government imposes control over its foreign currency reserves in part through direct regulation of the conversion of Renminbi into foreign exchange and through restrictions on foreign trade. On April 22, 2016,7, 2017, the noon buying rate was RMB6.5004RMB6.8978 to US$1.00.

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated.

Source: Federal Reserve Statistical Release

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

Declines or disruptions in the leisure travel industry in China may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are dependent on the leisure travel industry for substantially all of our revenues. The leisure travel industry is dependent on personal discretionary spending levels, which may be materially and adversely affected by economic downturns and recessions. Although the leisure travel industry in China has experienced rapid growth over the past decade, any severe or prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy could reduce expenditures for leisure travel, which in turn may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. The Chinese economy recoveredhas slowed down in 2010 and remained relatively stablerecent years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 6.7% in 2011, but the growth rate of China’s GDP decreased in 2013, 2014 and 2015.2016. It is uncertain whether this economic slowdown will continue into 20162017 and beyond. Any severe or prolonged slowdown in the Chinese economy, slowdown in the growth rate of disposable income per capita in China or the recurrence of any financial disruptions may materially and adversely affect the leisure travel industry in China and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business may also be significantly affected by other factors that tend to reduce leisure travel, including increased prices in hotel, air-ticketing, fuel or other travel-related sectors, work stoppages or labor unrest at airlines, increased occurrences of travel-related accidents, outbreaks of contagious diseases, natural disasters and extreme unexpected bad weather, terrorist attacks and political unrest. For example, the travel industry was negatively impacted by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in several regions in Asia, including Hong Kong and China, in early 2003, snowstorms that severely affected southern China in early 2008, the outbreak of H1N1 influenza (swine flu) that occurred in Mexico and the United States in April 2009, the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan in early 2011, heavy haze that shrouded central and northern China and some Southeast Asian countries in 2013, the outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in West Africa beginning in March 2014, the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines flight in March 2014 as well as the crashes of Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia flights in July and December 2014, respectively, which all had a negative impact on air travel among our target customers. In addition, overseas leisure travel products and services accounted for over 65%63.8% of our packaged tour gross bookings in 2015.2016. Even though China has recently reached agreements with certain countries such as the United States and Canada to relax existing travel visa restrictions for Chinese nationals, our overseas leisure travel business may be negatively affected by any adverse change in the visa policies of foreign countries that makes it difficult for Chinese nationals to obtain tourist visas. Terrorist attacks or threats of terrorist attacks, political unrests, wars, imposition of taxes or surcharges by regulatory authorities and regional hostilities may also reduce the demand for overseas tours. For example, the ParisNice terrorist attacksattack in November 2015France, the coup in Turkey, and the deployment of THAAD by South Korea in 2016 negatively impacted short-term travel demand for the near-term travel demands for Europe. affected regions.We have little or no control over the occurrence of such declines or disruptions, which could result in a decrease in demand for our travel products and services. This decrease in demand, depending on the scope and duration, could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations over the short and long term.

If we do not continue to provide competitive travel products and services, we may not be able to attract new customers or to retain existing customers, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

Our success depends on our ability to attract new customers and retain existing customers, which in turn requires our continual provision of a wide array of competitive travel products and services. In light of the rapidly rising levels of disposable income in China, demand for vacation, recreation and other forms of leisure travel has increased rapidly in recent years. Participants in the online travel industry are continually developing new travel products and services in response to increasing customer demand. We strive to stay abreast of emerging and rapidly changing customer preferences and to continue to anticipate trends that will appeal to existing and potential customers. We will also continue to invest in research and development in order to constantly improve the speed, accuracy and comprehensiveness of our online platform. If we fail to keep on improving our travel products and services and platform at a competitive pace, we may lose customers to our competitors and may not attract new customers. In addition to packaged tours, we provide other travel-related services, such as sales of tourist attraction tickets, visa application services, financial services, hotel booking services and visa processingair ticketing services. We intend to further broaden our product selection by extending our coverage of departing cities and travel destinations as well as offering more departure time selections. If we fail to continue to source quality travel products and services tailored to accommodate our customers’ changing needs and preferences, we may not be able to sell additional products and services to our current customers, retain our current customers or attract new customers, and our business, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to maintain the quality of customer services could harm our reputation and our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is significantly affected by the overall size of our customer base, which in turn is determined by, among other factors, their experience with our customer services. As such, the quality of customer services is critical to retaining our existing customers and attracting new customers. If we fail to provide quality customer services, our customers may be less inclined to book travel products and services with us or recommend us to new customers, and may switch to our competitors. Failure to maintain the quality of customer services could harm our reputation and our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may seek damages from us and not continue using our online platform.

Our ability to ensure satisfactory customer experience in a large part depends on our travel suppliers to provide high-quality travel products and services. Our reputation and brand will be negatively affected if our travel suppliers fail to provide quality travel products and services.

The actions we take to monitor and enhance the performance of our travel suppliers may be inadequate in timely discovering quality issues. There have been customer complaints and litigation against us due to our travel suppliers’ failure to provide satisfactory travel products or services. If our customers are dissatisfied with the travel products and services provided, they may reduce their use of, or completely forgo, our online platform, and may even demand refunds of their payments to us or claim compensation from us for the damages suffered as a result of our travel suppliers’ performance or misconduct, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have incurred losses in the past and will likely continue to incur losses in the future.

We have incurred net losses historically and will likely continue to incur losses in the future as we grow our business. We had a net loss of RMB79.6 million, RMB447.9 million, and RMB1,462.4 million and RMB2,442.6 million (US$225.8351.8 million) in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2015,2016, respectively. Our historical net losses were partially attributable to our spending associated with our rapidly expanding business operations, including expenses related to regional expansion, branding and advertising campaigns, mobile related initiatives and expenses related to technology, product development and administrative personnel such as share-based compensation. We expect that we will continue to incur significant expenses to further grow our business, which will affect our profitability and cash flow from operations in the future.

In addition, our ability to achieve profitability is affected by various factors that are beyond our control. For example, our revenues and profitability depend on the continual development of the online leisure travel industry in China and consumers’ preference to make travel bookings online. We cannot assure you that making travel bookings online will become more widely accepted in China or that consumers will increase their spending on online leisure travel booking. Factors negatively affecting our travel suppliers’ profitability will in turn adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unsuccessful in addressing any of these risks and uncertainties, our business may be materially and adversely affected and we will likely continue to incur net loss in the near future.

We face intense competition and may not be able to compete successfully against existing and new competitors.

We operate in China’s highly competitive travel industry. We compete with not only other online travel companies, but also traditional travel service providers and tour operators, airlines and hotels and large, established Internet search engines. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—Competition.” Some of our current and potential competitors may have greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do. In addition, some of our competitors may be acquired by, receive investments from or enter into strategic relationships with larger, well-established and well-financed companies or investors. Furthermore, our business model causes us to maintain a cooperative-competitive relationship with some of our competitors, especially tour operators, as they are also our travel suppliers.

Many of our competitors have launched, and may continue to launch, aggressive advertising campaigns, special promotions and other marketing activities to promote their brands, acquireattract new customers or increase their market shares. In response, we have started to take and may continue to take similar measures and as a result will incur significant expenses, which in turn could increasenegatively affect our net loss.operating margin in the quarters or years when such promotional activities are carried out. We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully compete against existing or new competitors. If we are not able to compete successfully, we may lose our market share and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to enhance our brand recognition, we may face difficulty in retaining existing and attracting new customers and travel suppliers and our business may be harmed.

Recognition and reputation of our “Tuniu” brand among our targeted customers and travel suppliers have contributed significantly to our growth. We have made continual investments in enhancing awareness of our brand among customers and travel suppliers since our inception. Our brand recognition and reputation also depend on our ability to provide high-quality customer services, address customer needs and handle customer complaints properly, maintain our relationships with travel suppliers and provide a user-friendly online platform. See “—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Failure to maintain the quality of customer services could harm our reputation and our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations”, “—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—If we are unable to maintain existing relationships with our travel suppliers, or develop relationships with new travel suppliers on favorable terms or terms similar to those we currently have, our business and results of operations may suffer” and “—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—The proper functioning of our online platform, including our web and mobile platforms, and management systems is essential to our business. Any failure to maintain their satisfactory performance will materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.” Failure to maintain the strength of our brand could reduce the number of customers and deteriorate our relationships with travel suppliers.

In addition, some of our competitors have well-established brands in the travel industry, and may have more financial and other resources to advertise and promote their brands. Therefore, we intendexpect to incur morecontinue incurring advertising and marketing expenditures and use other resources to maintain and increase our brand recognition. Our marketing costs may also increase as a result of inflation in media pricing in China, including costs for purchasing search engine keywords and placing online and offline advertisements. If we fail to cost-effectively maintain and increase our brand recognition, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We are exposed to proceedings or claims arising from travel-related accidents or customer misconduct during their travels, the occurrence of which may be beyond our control.

Accidents are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among tourists. We are exposed to risks of our customers’ claims arising from or relating to travel-related accidents. As we enter into contracts with our customers directly, our customers typically take actions against us for the damages they suffer during their travels. However, such accidents may result from the negligence or misconduct of our travel suppliers or other service providers, over which we have no or limited control. See also “—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may seek damages from us and not continue using our online platform.” We maintain insurance coverage for our liabilities as a travel company, and are indemnified by the liable travel suppliers for the damages claimed by our customers. However, there is no assurance that such insurance or indemnification will be sufficient to cover all of our losses. In addition, some of the travel-related accidents result from adventure activities undertaken by our customers during their travels, such as scuba diving, white water rafting, wind surfing and skiing. Furthermore, we may be affected by our customers’ misconduct during their travels, over which we have no or limited control. Such accidents and misconduct, even if not resulting from our or our travel suppliers’ negligence or misconduct, could create a public perception that we are less reliable than our competitors, which would harm our reputation, and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The proper functioning of our online platform, including our web and mobile platforms, and management systems is essential to our business. Any failure to maintain their satisfactory performance will materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Availability, satisfactory performance and reliability of our online platform, including our web and mobile platforms, are critical to our ability to attract and retain customers and provide quality travel products and services to our customers. Any unavailability or slowdown of our online platforms would reduce the number of our customers and our customers’ travel bookings. Some telecommunications carriers have system constraints that can affect our customer experience. For example, if a large number of customers use the same telecommunications carrier at the same time for services requiring a large amount of data transmission, the customers could experience reduced speed or other technical issues due to the carrier’s capacity constraints, over which we have no control. Our servers may also be vulnerable to computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins or other potential disruptions, which could lead to interruptions, delays, loss of data or the inability to accept and process customer queries or bookings. We may also experience interruptions caused by reasons beyond our control such as power outages. Unexpected interruptions could damage our reputation and result in a material decrease in our revenues. In addition, our online platform may contain undetected errors or “bugs” that could adversely affect their performance.

In 2015,2016, the number of orders placed through our mobile platform accounted for approximately 70%80% of total orders placed through our online platform and average daily unique visitors on our mobile platform accounted for approximately 70% of the average daily unique visitors on our online platform. As a result, our mobile platform serves as an important and integral part of our customers’ research on travel-related information. The lower functionality, speed and memory generally associated with mobile devices may make it more difficult for our customers to fully access our mobile platform, and we may fail to attract and retain a significant portion of the growing number of customers who search for and book travel products and services through mobile devices. We may also experience difficulties monetizing customer traffic to our mobile platform.

In addition, we rely significantly on our proprietary N-Booking system and other management systems to facilitate and process transactions. We may in the future experience system interruptions that prevent us from efficiently fulfilling bookings or providing services and support to our customers or travel suppliers. Any interruptions, outages or delays in our systems, or deterioration in their performance, could impair our ability to process transactions and decrease the quality of our services to our customers or travel suppliers. If we were to experience frequent or persistent system failures, our reputation and brand would be harmed.

If we are unable to maintain existing relationships with our travel suppliers, or develop relationships with new travel suppliers on favorable terms or terms similar to those we currently have, our business and results of operations may suffer.

Our business is dependent on our ability to maintain our relationships and arrangements with existing travel suppliers. For most of our suppliers, we do not prohibit our travel suppliers from developing business relationships with our competitors or selling, through their direct sales, travel products that are the same as or similar to those they supply to us. If we are unable to maintain satisfactory relationships with our existing travel suppliers, or if our travel suppliers establish similar or more favorable relationships with our competitors, or if our travel suppliers increase their competition with us through their direct sales, we may not have the necessary supply to meet the needs of our customers, or we may not obtain it at satisfactory rates. We do not enter into any long-term agreements with our travel suppliers.We cannot assure you that our travel suppliers will renew our agreements in the future on favorable terms or terms similar to those we currently have agreed. Our travel suppliers may increase the prices that they charge us or the deposits that they require from us. As a result, the amount, pricing and breadth of travel products and services that we are able to offer may be reduced and our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Furthermore, in order to grow our business, we will need to develop relationships with new travel suppliers of good quality. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify appropriate travel suppliers or enter into arrangements with those travel suppliers on favorable terms or at all. Any failure to do so could harm the growth of our business and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We may suffer losses if we are unable to predict the amount of travel products we will need to purchase in advance.

For peak seasons and for certain tours and destinations, we have made commitments with a number of travel suppliers to purchase packaged tours, hotel rooms and air tickets before selling them to our customers and thereby incur inventory risk. If we are unable to accurately predict demand for the packaged tours, hotel rooms and air tickets that we are committed to purchase and which are nonrefundable, we would be responsible for bearing the cost of the travel products we are unable to sell, and our financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.

We may not be able to effectively manage our growth and expansion or implement our business strategies, in which case our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We have experienced a period of rapid growth and expansion, including our recent rapid expansion in lower tier cities in China. Such growth and expansion has placed, and will continue to place, significant strain on our management and resources. We cannot assure you that this level of significant growth and expansion will be sustainable or achieved at all in the future. We believe that our continued growth and expansion will depend on our ability to provide competitive travel products and services, attract new customers, continue developing travel products and services and innovative technologies in response to customer demand and preferences, increase brand awareness through marketing and promotional activities, expand into new market segments, and take advantage of any growth in the relevant markets. We cannot assure you that we will achieve any of the above.

To manage our growth and expansion, and to achieve profitability, we anticipate that we will need to implement a variety of new and upgraded operational and financial systems, procedures and controls, including the improvement of our N-Booking system and other management systems. We will also need to further expand, train, manage and motivate our workforce and manage our relationships with our travel suppliers and customers. All of these objectives entail risks and will require substantial management efforts and skills and significant additional expenditures. Our further expansion may divert our management, operational or technological resources from our existing business operations. In addition, our expansion has required us to operate in new cities in China, including a number of small cities in China, where we may have difficulty in adjusting to local market demands and regulatory requirements. We cannot assure you that we will be able to effectively manage our growth and expansion or implement our future business strategies effectively, and failure to do so may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our quarterly results are likely to fluctuate because of seasonality in the leisure travel industry in China.

Our business experiences fluctuations, reflecting seasonal variations in demand for leisure travel services. Sales of leisure travel products and services will increase in respect of holiday periods and decrease in respect of off-peak times, while prices of leisure travel products and services are subject to fluctuation between peak seasons and low seasons. For example, the third quarter of each year generally contributes the highest percentage of our annual revenues, because many of our customers tend to travel during summer holidays in July and August. Consequently, our results of operations may fluctuate from quarter to quarter. Our rapid growth has tended to mask the seasonality of our business. As our growth rate slows, the seasonality in our business will become more pronounced and cause our operating results to fluctuate.

If we are unable to identify, attract, hire, train and retain key individuals and highly skilled employees, our business may be adversely affected

Our future performance depends on the continued service of our senior management, in particular, Mr. Dunde Yu, our co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer, and Mr. Haifeng Yan, our co-founder, director, president and chief operating officer. If one or more of our key executives were unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily, our future growth may be constrained, our business may be disrupted and our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. There is no assurance that we can continue to retain their services and there can be no assurance that they will not compete against us.

If our business continues to expand, we will need to hire additional employees, including supplier management personnel to maintain and expand our travel supplier network, information technology and engineering personnel to maintain and expand our online platform and customer service personnel to serve an increasing number of customers. If we are unable to identify, attract, hire, train and retain sufficient employees in these areas, our customers may not have satisfactory experiences with us and may turn to our competitors, which may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We may be subject to legal or administrative proceedings regarding our travel products and services, information provided on our online platform or other aspects of our business operations, which may be time-consuming to defend and affect our reputation.

From time to time, we have become and may in the future become a party to various legal or administrative proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business, including breach of contract claims, anti-competition claims and other matters. For details, see “Item 8.A. Financial Information—Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings.” Such proceedings are inherently uncertain and their results cannot be predicted with certainty. Regardless of the outcome and merit of such proceedings, any such legal action could have an adverse impact on our business because of defense costs, negative publicity, diversion of management’s attention and other factors. In addition, it is possible that an unfavorable resolution of one or more legal or administrative proceedings, whether in the PRC or in another jurisdiction, could materially and adversely affect our financial position, results of operations or cash flows in a particular period or damage our reputation. In addition, our online platform contains information about our travel products and services, vacation destinations and other travel-related topics. It is possible that our customers would take action against us in the event that any content accessible on our online platform were to contain errors or false or misleading information.

We may be subject to detrimental adverse publicity, malicious allegations or other conduct by people or entities, which could harm our reputation, adversely affect our business and the trading price of our ADSs.

We have been, and in the future may be, the target of adverse publicity, malicious allegations or other detrimental conduct by people or entities. Such allegations, directly or indirectly against us, may be posted in internet chat-rooms or on blogs or any website by anyone on an anonymous basis. We may be required to spend significant time and incur substantial costs in response to such allegations or other detrimental conduct, and there is no assurance that we will be able to conclusively refute each of them within a reasonable period of time, or at all. Our reputation may be harmed as a result of the public dissemination of malicious allegations about our personnel, business, operations, accounting, prospects or business ethics, which in turn could adversely affect our business and the trading price of our ADSs.

We have limited experience and operating history in developing and providing new products and services, which may negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As part of our growth strategy, we intend to develop and offer new travel products and services to satisfy the evolving needs of our customers. In January 2016, we launched an open platform for air ticketing and hotel booking services. New bundles such as the “Air Ticket plus X” and “Hotel plus X” allow our new services to closely complement our core leisure travel services. We also launched bus ticketing and mobile car rental channels in order to provide leisure travelers with the most comprehensive solutions. We have limited experience and operating history in developing and operating these new services. These and other new products and services we may offer in the future present operating and marketing challenges that are different from those we currently encounter. In addition, the market for our new travel products and services may be highly competitive. If we fail to successfully develop and offer our new travel products and services in an increasingly competitive market, we may not be able to capture the growth opportunities associated with them or recover the development and marketing costs, and our future results of operations and growth strategies could be adversely affected.

We have limited experience in operating a finance business. Increased exposure to credit risks or significant deterioration in the asset quality of our finance business may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We started to participate in the finance sector in China in 2015. We offer a range of financial services, including consumer financing, supply chain financing and microcredit, yield enhancement products and insurance products to our customers. Expansion in this new business area involves new risks and challenges. For certain financial products, we have committed or will commit our own capital. Our lack of familiarity with the finance sector may make it difficult for us to anticipate the demands and preferences in the market and develop financial products that meet the requirements and preference. We may not be able to successfully identify new product and service opportunities or develop and introduce these opportunities to our clients in a timely and cost-effective manner, or our clients may be disappointed in the returns from financial products that we offer.

The risk of nonpayment of loans is inherent in the finance business and we are subject to credit risk resulting from defaults in payment for loans by the suppliers and customers. Credit risks are exacerbated in consumer financing because there is relatively limited information available about the credit histories of customers. There can be no assurances that our monitoring of credit risk issues and our efforts to mitigate credit risks through our credit assessment and risk management policies are or will be sufficient to result in lower delinquencies. Furthermore, our ability to manage the quality of our loan portfolio and the associated credit risks will have significant impact on the results of operations of our finance business. Deterioration in the overall quality of loan portfolio and increased exposure to credit risks may occur due to a variety of reasons, including factors beyond our control, such as a slowdown in the growth of the PRC or global economies or a liquidity or credit crisis in the PRC or global finance sectors, which may adversely affect the businesses, operations or liquidity of our suppliers and customers or their ability to repay or roll over their debt. Any significant deterioration in the asset quality of our finance business and significant increase in associated credit risks may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In addition, the development of finance business is capital intensive. We continue to provide management, administration and collection services on the transferred financial assets and are obligated to absorb a portion of the losses incurred in the outstanding portfolio of the transferred financial assets in the event of default. We may need additional cash resources due to further developments of our financial services or changed business conditions, which may cause us to seek credit facilities or sell additional equity or debt securities. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt obligations and could result in operating and financial covenants that would restrict our operations. Additionally, it is uncertain whether financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable, if at all.

If the fragmented travel industry in China becomes consolidated, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

China’s enormous size and population, imbalanced economic development and differences in consumer behavior across the country have created a highly fragmented and diverse travel industry. In recent years, customers have been shifting from highly fragmented traditional offline travel companies to travel websites for a wider product selection and greater convenience. If, however, traditional tour operators form alliances, or merge or consolidate among themselves, or if one of our travel suppliers is acquired by another company with which we do not have a relationship, we may not be able to maintain our strength in offering a wider selection of travel products and services as compared to traditional travel companies, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The Tourism Law may reduce the demand of organized tours and materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

On April 25, 2013, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress promulgated the Tourism Law, which became effective as of October 1, 2013.2013 and was amended in 2016. The Tourism Law imposes more stringent restrictions on tour operators. Pursuant to the Tourism Law, tour operators are prohibited from arranging compulsory shopping or other activities which charge additional fees on top of the contract prices that the tourist has already paid, unless it is agreed upon by both parties through consultation or requested by the tourist and does not affect the itinerary of other tourists. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—PRC Regulation—Regulations on Travel Companies.” If our travel suppliers fail to comply with these restrictions, our reputation and brand may be negatively affected. In addition, as a result of the Tourism Law, the commissions or rebates that tour operators receive from shopping establishments have declined and organized tour prices have risen, which have reduced the demand for organized tours in the short term and may continue to reduce the demand for organized tours in the future. If customers cannot adapt to the increased organized tour prices, our business and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to prevent others from using our intellectual property, which may harm our business and expose us to litigation.

We regard our intellectual property as critical to our success. We rely primarily on a combination of copyright, software registration, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition laws and contractual rights, such as confidentiality agreements with our employees and others, to protect our intellectual property rights. The protection of intellectual property rights in China may not be as effective as that in the United States. Unauthorized use or other misappropriation of our technologies would enable third parties to benefit from our technologies without paying us, or enable our competitors to offer travel products and services that are comparable to or better than ours. From time to time, we may have to enforce our intellectual property rights through litigation. Such litigation may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Claims by third parties that we infringe on their intellectual property rights could lead to government administrative actions and result in significant costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We have been in the past, and may be from time to time in the future, subject to legal proceedings, claims or government administrative actions relating to alleged infringement on copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties in relation to the content on our online platform or intellectual property rights otherwise used in our operation. For example, our website may be found to contain pictures that infringe on copyrights of third parties or hotel reviews that are third parties’ proprietary information. In addition, some of the software that we are currently using in our business may infringe on third parties’ copyrights. If we are found to have infringed on the intellectual property rights of others, we may be subject to liability for our infringement activities or may be prohibited from using such intellectual property, and we may incur licensing fees. Successful infringement or licensing claims made against us may result in significant monetary liabilities and may materially disrupt our business and operations by restricting or prohibiting our use of the intellectual property in question. Moreover, regardless of whether we successfully defend against such claims, we could suffer negative publicity and our reputation could be severely damaged. Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, user-generated content on our online platform may contain or provide links to information that infringes on the copyrights or other intellectual property rights of third parties or violates applicable rules or regulations in relation to censorship, or we may use the user-generated content in a way that infringes on the rights of the users or third parties. Any claims, with or without merit, could be time-consuming to defend, result in litigation and divert management’s attention and resources.

The successful operation of our business depends upon the performance and reliability of the Internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China.

Our business depends on the performance and reliability of the Internet infrastructure and telecommunications networks in China. Almost all access to the Internet is maintained through state-owned telecommunications operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the PRC, or the MIIT. In addition, the national networks in China are connected to the Internet through international gateways controlled by the PRC government. These international gateways are the only channels through which domestic users can connect to the Internet. We rely on a limited number of telecommunications service providers, primarily China Telecom and China Unicom, to provide us with data communications capacity. We, our customers or travel suppliers, may not have access to alternative networks in the event of disruptions, failures or other problems with China’s Internet infrastructure. With the expansion of our business, we may be required to upgrade our technology and infrastructure to keep up with the increasing traffic on our online platform. However, we have no control over the costs of the services provided by telecommunications service providers. If the prices we pay for telecommunications and Internet services rise significantly, our results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. If Internet access fees or other charges to Internet users increase, the number of Internet users may decline and our business may be harmed. Moreover, if we are not able to renew services agreements with the telecommunications carriers when they expire and are not able to enter into agreements with alternative carriers on commercially reasonable terms or at all, the quality and stability of our online platform may be adversely affected.

We are subject to payment-related risks.

We enable our customers to make payments through our website by working with various third-party online payment processing service providers. As we rely on third parties to provide payment processing services, including processing payments made with credit cards and debit cards, it could disrupt our business if these companies become unwilling or unable to provide these services to us. We may be subject to human error, fraud and other illegal activities in connection with third-party online payment services. If our data security systems are breached or compromised, we may lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our customers, and we may be subject to claims for damages from our customers and third parties, all of which could adversely and materially affect our reputation as well as our results of operations.

If we fail to adopt new technologies or adapt our website online platform and management systems to changing user requirements, increasing traffic or emerging industry standards, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

The online travel industry is subject to rapid technological changes. To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our online platform. The online travel industry is also characterized by rapid technological evolution and changes in customer requirements and preferences. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to identify, develop, acquire or license leading technologies useful in our business and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely manner. The development of our online platform and other proprietary technology entails significant technical and business risks. In addition, the widespread adoption of new Internet, networking or telecommunications technologies or other technological changes could require substantial expenditures to modify or adapt our infrastructure. We may not be able to use new technologies effectively or adapt our online platform, proprietary technologies and operating systems to the requirements of our customers and travel suppliers or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a cost-effective and timely manner to changing market conditions or user requirements, whether for technical, legal, financial, or other reasons, our business may be materially and adversely affected.

Our business may be harmed if we are unable to upgrade our systems and infrastructure quickly enough to accommodate increasing traffic levels, or to avoid obsolescence, or successfully integrate any newly developed or purchased technologies with our existing systems. Capacity constraints could cause unanticipated system disruptions, slower response times, poor customer experience, impaired quality and speed of reservations and confirmations and delays in reporting accurate financial and operating information. These factors could cause us to lose customers. Additionally, we will continue to upgrade and improve our technology infrastructure to support our business growth. However, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in executing these system upgrades and improvement strategies. In particular, our systems may experience interruptions during upgrades, and any new technologies or infrastructures may not be fully integrated with our existing systems on a timely basis, or at all. If our existing or future technology infrastructure does not function properly, it could cause system disruptions and slow response times that affect data transmission, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our business.

We are exposed to risks associated with online security.

The secure transmission of confidential information over the Internet is essential in maintaining customer confidence in us. We conduct a significant portion of our transactions through our website. We utilize digital certificates to help us conduct secure communications and transactions. In addition, sensitive customer information, such as password and payment information, is stored with encryption, and our data servers are secured with firewalls. However, advances in technology or other developments could result in a compromise or breach of the technology that we use to protect customer and transaction data. Our security measures may not be sufficient to prevent security breaches. Any failure or perceived failure by us to prevent information security breaches or to comply with privacy policies or privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other customer data, could cause our customers to lose trust in us and could expose us to legal claims.

Our use of open source software could adversely affect our ability to offer our products and services and subject us to possible litigation.

We use open source software in connection with our development of technology infrastructure. From time to time, companies that use open source software have faced claims challenging the use of open source software and/or compliance with open source license terms. We could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software, or claiming noncompliance with open source licensing terms. Some open source licenses require users who distribute software containing open source to make available all or part of such software, which in some circumstances could include valuable proprietary code. While we monitor the use of open source software and try to ensure that none is used in a manner that would require us to disclose our proprietary source code or that would otherwise breach the terms of an open source agreement, such use could inadvertently occur, in part because open source license terms are often ambiguous. Any requirement to disclose our proprietary source code or pay damages for breach of contract could be harmful to our business, results of operations or financial condition, and could help our competitors develop travel products and services that are similar to or better than ours.

We may not be successful in pursuing strategic alliances and acquisitions, and future alliances and acquisitions may not bring us anticipated benefits.

Part of our growth strategy is the pursuit of strategic alliances and acquisitions. There can be no assurance that we will succeed in implementing this strategy as it is subject to many factors which are beyond our control, including our ability to identify and successfully execute suitable acquisition opportunities and alliances. Any future acquisitions, investments, and strategic alliances may expose us to new operational, regulatory and market risks, as well as risks associated with additional capital requirements, including risks associated with unforeseen or hidden liabilities, diversion of management resources and costs of integrating acquired businesses, the inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset the costs and expenses of acquisitions, and potentially significant loss of investments. Any acquisitions we pursue could also create difficulties with integrating the technology of acquired businesses with our existing technology, and employees of acquired businesses into the various departments and ranks in our company, and it could take substantial time and effort to integrate the business processes being used in the acquired businesses with our existing business processes. Should we fail to integrate acquired companies efficiently, our earnings, revenues, gross margins, operating margins and business operations could be negatively affected. Furthermore, acquired companies may not perform to our expectations for various reasons, including legislative or regulatory changes that affect the products and services in which the acquired companies specialize and the loss of key personnel and customer accounts. Any alliances we pursue could also subject us to a number of risks, including risks associated with sharing proprietary information, non-performance by the third party and increased expenses in establishing new strategic alliances, any of which may materially and adversely affect our business. We may also have limited ability to monitor or control the actions of these third parties and, to the extent any of these strategic third parties suffer negative publicity or harm to their reputation from events relating to their business, we may also suffer negative publicity or harm to our reputation by virtue of our association with any such third party.

We may not be able to identify suitable future acquisition or investment candidates or alliance partners. Moreover, there is no assurance that such alliances or acquisitions will achieve our intended objectives or benefits. Even if we identify suitable candidates or partners, we may be unable to complete an acquisition, investment or alliance on terms commercially acceptable to us. If we fail to identify appropriate candidates or partners, or complete desired acquisitions, investments or alliances, we may not be able to implement our strategies effectively or efficiently, and our overall profitability and growth plans may be adversely affected.

If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations or prevent fraud or fail to meet our reporting obligations, and investor confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

In connection with the audits of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2013 and 2014, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified one material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the standards established by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board of the United States, or PCAOB. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness identified related to the lack of sufficient financial reporting and accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge of US GAAP and the SEC, reporting requirements to formalize key controls over financial reporting and to prepare and review consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. The material weakness, if not timely remedied, may lead to significant misstatements in our consolidated financial statements in the future. Following the identification of the material weakness, we have taken extensive measures to remedy the material weakness. As of December 31, 2015, based on our management assessment on the performance of the above mentioned remediation measures, we determined that the material weakness previously identified in our internal control over financial reporting had been remediated.

Since our initial public offering, we have becomeWe are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.20-F. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm must report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

Our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2015.2016. See “Item 15. Controls and Procedures.” Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report, which has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective in all material aspects as of December 31, 2015.2016. However, if we fail to maintain the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports. As a result, any failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. Furthermore, we may need to incur additional costs and use additional management and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other requirements going forward.

We have limited business insurance coverage in China.

Insurance companies in China offer limited business insurance products. Business disruption insurance is available to a limited extent in China, but we have determined that the risks of disruption, the cost of such insurance and the difficulties associated with acquiring such insurance make it commercially impractical for us to have such insurance. We maintain insurance coverage for travel company liabilities, but we do not maintain insurance coverage for business disruptions and would have to bear the costs and expenses associated with any such events out of our own resources.

We may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

Although we believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for at least the next 12 months, we may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any marketing initiatives or investments we may decide to pursue. If these resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to obtain a credit facility or sell additional equity or debt securities. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution of our existing shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. It is uncertain whether financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

We have granted share options unvestedand restricted shares, and restricted share units, and may grant share options and other share-based awards in the future, which may materially increase our net loss.

We adopted an incentive compensation plan in 2008, or the 2008 Plan, which permits the granting of options to purchase our ordinary shares and restricted shares. We also adopted a separate incentive compensation plan in 2014, or the 2014 Plan, which permits the granting of options to purchase our ordinary shares, restricted shares and restricted share units. In particular, our 2014 Plan contains an evergreen provision which allows us to automatically increase the maximum aggregate number of ordinary shares reserved under the 2014 Plan to 5% of the then-issued and outstanding shares on an as-converted basis without shareholder approval, if and whenever the shares reserved in the 2014 Plan account for less than 1% of the total then-issued and outstanding shares on an as-converted basis. For more details regarding the 2008 Plan and the 2014 Plan, see “Item 6.B. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—Compensation.” As of March 31, 2016,2017, there were options to acquire 10,766,8059,336,745 ordinary shares outstanding under the 2008 Plan, and options to acquire 18,805,52121,892,922 ordinary shares and 113,772383,598 restricted shares outstanding under the 2014 Plan. In addition, we plan to grant employees share options and other share-based compensation in the future. Expenses associated with share-based awards may materially impact our results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure

Substantial uncertainties and restrictions exist with respect to the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations relating to restrictions on foreign investment in value-added telecommunications and travel companies in China. If the PRC government finds that the structure we have adopted for our business operations does not comply with PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties, including shutting down of our online platform.

Foreign ownership of Internet-based businesses is subject to significant restrictions under current PRC laws and regulations. The PRC government regulates Internet access, the distribution of online information and the conduct of online commerce through strict business licensing requirements and other government regulations. These laws and regulations also include limitations on foreign ownership in PRC companies that provide Internet content distribution services. Specifically, foreign investors are not allowed to own more than 50% of the equity interest in any entity conducting value-added telecommunications business. The Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Foreign Investment in and Operation of Value-added Telecommunications Business issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in July 2006, or the MIIT Circular, reiterated the regulations on foreign investment in telecommunications business, which require foreign investors to set up foreign-invested telecom enterprises and obtain business operating licenses for Internet content provision, or an ICP license to conduct any value-added telecommunications business in China. Under the MIIT Circular, a domestic company that holds an ICP license is prohibited from leasing, transferring or selling the license to foreign investors in any form, and from providing any assistance, including providing resources, sites or facilities, to foreign investors that conduct value-added telecommunications business illegally in China. Furthermore, the relevant trademarks and domain names that are used in the value-added telecommunications business must be owned by the domestic ICP license holder or its shareholders. Due to a lack of interpretation from the MIIT, it is unclear what impact the MIIT Circular will have on us or other PRC Internet companies that have adopted the same or similar corporate structures and contractual arrangements as ours. Nanjing Tuniu holds our ICP licenses, and owns the domain name used in our value-added telecommunications business. Nanjing Tuniu is also the owner of all registered trademarks used in our value-added telecommunications business and is the applicant of all the applications for trademark registration we have made.

We are a Cayman Islands company and our wholly owned PRC subsidiary, Beijing Tuniu Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Tuniu, is considered a foreign invested enterprise. To comply with PRC laws and regulations, we conduct our operations in China through a series of contractual arrangements entered into among Beijing Tuniu, Nanjing Tuniu, and the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu. As a result of these contractual arrangements, we exert control over Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries and consolidate their results of operations in our financial statements under U.S. GAAP. For a detailed description of these contractual arrangements, see “Item 4.C. Information on the Company—Organizational Structure.”

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, our current ownership structure, the ownership structure of our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated affiliated entities, each of the shareholders’ voting rights agreement, powers of attorney, equity interest pledge agreement and purchase option agreement entered into among Beijing Tuniu, Nanjing Tuniu and the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu, and the cooperation agreement between Beijing Tuniu and Nanjing Tuniu, which establish our contractual arrangement with Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders, and, except as otherwise disclosed in this annual report, our business operations are not in violation of existing PRC laws, rules and regulations. However, we are advised by our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, that there are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations and there can be no assurance that the PRC government will ultimately take a view that is consistent with the opinion of our PRC counsel stated above.

In or around September 2011, various media sources reported that the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, had prepared a report proposing regulating the use of variable interest entity structures, such as ours, in industry sectors subject to foreign investment restrictions in China and overseas listings by China-based companies. However, it is unclear whether the CSRC officially issued or submitted such a report to a higher level government authority or what any such report provides, or whether any new PRC laws or regulations relating to variable interest entity structures will be adopted or if adopted, what they would provide.

If our ownership structure, contractual arrangements and business of our company, our PRC subsidiaries or our consolidated affiliated entities are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, or we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion in dealing with such violation, including levying fines, confiscating our income or the income of our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated affiliated entities, revoking the business licenses or operating licenses of our PRC subsidiaries or consolidated affiliated entities, shutting down our servers or blocking our online platform, discontinuing or placing restrictions or onerous conditions on our operations, requiring us to undergo a costly and disruptive restructuring, restricting or prohibiting our use of proceeds from our earlier initial public offering and the related concurrent private placement as well as our subsequent private placement in December 2014, May 2015 and November 2015 to finance our business and operations in China, and taking other regulatory or enforcement actions that could be harmful to our business. Any of these actions could cause significant disruption to our business operations and severely damage our reputation, which would in turn materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If any of these occurrences results in our inability to direct the activities of any of our consolidated affiliated entities that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from any of our consolidated affiliated entities, we may not be able to consolidate the entity in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

The Ministry of Commerce, or MOC, published a discussion draft of its proposed Foreign Investment Law in January 2015 aiming to, upon its enactment, replace the trio of existing laws regulating foreign investment in China, namely,the Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture Enterprise Law, the Sino-foreign Cooperative Joint Venture Enterprise Law and the Wholly Foreign-invested Enterprise Law, together with their implementation rules and ancillary regulations. The draft Foreign Investment Law embodies an expected PRC regulatory trend to rationalize its foreign investment regulatory regime in line with prevailing international practice and legislative efforts to unify the corporate legal requirements for both foreign and domestic investments.

Among other things, the draft Foreign Investment Law expands the definition of foreign investment and introduces the principle of “actual control” in determining whether a company is considered a foreign-invested enterprise, or FIE. The draft Foreign Investment Law specifically provides that entities established in China but “controlled” by foreign investors will be treated as FIEs, whereas an entity established in a foreign jurisdiction would nonetheless be, upon market entry clearance by the MOC, treated as a PRC domestic investor provided that entity is “controlled” by PRC entities and/or citizens. In this connection, “control” is broadly defined in the draft law to cover the following summarized categories: (i) holding, directly or indirectly, 50% or more of the equity interests or voting rights of the subject entity; (ii) holding less than 50% of the equity interests or voting rights of the subject entity but having the power to secure at least 50% of the seats on the board or other equivalent decision making bodies, or having the voting power to materially influence the board, shareholders’ meetings or other equivalent decision making bodies; or (iii) having the power to exert decisive influence, via contractual or trust arrangements, over the subject entity’s operations, financial matters or other key aspects of business operations. Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, once an entity is determined to be an FIE, it will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in a “negative list,” to be separately issued by the State Council at a later date, in the event that the FIE is engaged in an industry listed on the negative list. Unless the underlying business of the FIE falls within the negative list, which calls for market entry clearance by the MOC, prior approval from the government authorities as mandated by the existing foreign investment legal regime would no longer be required for establishment of the FIE.

The “variable interest entity” structure, or VIE structure, has been adopted by many PRC-based companies, including us, to obtain necessary licenses and permits in industries that are currently subject to foreign investment restrictions in China. See “—Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure—Substantial uncertainties and restrictions exist with respect to the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations relating to restrictions on foreign investment in value-added telecommunications and travel companies in China. If the PRC government finds that the structure we have adopted for our business operations does not comply with PRC laws and regulations, we could be subject to severe penalties, including the forced closure of our online platform” and “Item 4.C. Information on the Company—Organizational Structure.” Under the draft Foreign Investment Law, variable interest entities that are controlled via contractual arrangements would also be deemed FIEs, if they are ultimately “controlled” by foreign investors. Therefore, there is a risk that, for any company which invests in an industry category that is on the “negative list” using a VIE structure established after the Foreign Investment Law takes effect the VIE structure would be deemed legitimate only if the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC companies or PRC citizens). Conversely, if the actual controlling person(s) is/are of foreign nationalities, then there is the risk that the variable interest entities will be treated as FIEs and any operation in industry categories on the “negative list” without market entry clearance would possibly be considered as illegal. But as for investments in industry categories contained in the negative list through VIE structures established before the Foreign Investment Law takes effect, there is no specific clause in the draft Foreign Investment Law specifying how these investments will be treated. In accordance with an explanation on the draft Foreign Investment Law issued concurrently by the MOC, the MOC is conducting further research and studying on this matter and will put forward disposition suggestions after soliciting public comments. The MOC solicited comments on the draft Foreign Investment Law and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to its enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the value-added telecommunications and travel industries in which our variable interest entities operate will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” to be issued by the State Council. If a final version of the Foreign Investment Law and the “negative list” are promulgated and mandate further actions, such as MOC market entry clearance, to be completed by companies like us, with existing VIE structures, we face uncertainties as to whether such clearance can be timely obtained, or at all. Any such development could materially impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations in many aspects. In the event that a final version of the Foreign Investment Law is enacted, we will conduct a full analysis of our corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations to assess our conformity with the requirements set forth therein.

The draft Foreign Investment Law, if enacted as proposed, may also materially impact our corporate governance practices and increase our compliance costs. For instance, the draft Foreign Investment Law imposes stringent ad hoc and periodic information reporting requirements on foreign investors and the applicable FIEs. Aside from investment implementation report and investment amendment report that are required at each investment and alteration of investment specifics, an annual report is mandatory, and large foreign investors meeting certain criteria are required to report on a quarterly basis. Any company found to be non-compliant with these information reporting obligations may potentially be subject to fines and/or administrative or criminal liabilities, and the persons directly responsible may be subject to criminal liability.

We rely on contractual arrangements with Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders for the operation of our business, which may not be as effective as direct ownership. If Nanjing Tuniu or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations under these contractual arrangements, we may have to resort to litigation or arbitration to enforce our rights, which may be time-consuming, unpredictable, expensive and damaging to our operations and reputation. If we are unable to maintain effective control we would not be able to continue to consolidate the financial results of our consolidated affiliated entities with our financial results.

Although we have been advised by our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, that our contractual arrangements with Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders did not and does not result in any violation of current PRC laws, these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing control as direct ownership. If Nanjing Tuniu or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and expend additional resources to enforce such arrangements. We may also have to rely on legal remedies under contract law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages, which we cannot assure you will be effective. For example, if the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu refuse to transfer their equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu to us or our designee when we exercise the purchase option pursuant to these contractual arrangements, or if they otherwise act in bad faith toward us, then we may have to take legal actions to compel them to perform their contractual obligations. Furthermore, while the company chops of Nanjing Tuniu are held by its legal and accounting departments, our ability to ensure its performance under the contractual agreements may be limited if we are unable to secure control of the company chops in the event of a dispute with its management or shareholders, as many official documents require affixation of company chops to become fully effective. If we were the controlling shareholder of Nanjing Tuniu with direct ownership, we would be able to exercise our rights as shareholders to effect changes to its board of directors, which in turn could implement changes at the management and operational level.

All the agreements under our contractual arrangements are governed by PRC laws and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. Accordingly, these contracts would be interpreted in accordance with PRC laws and any disputes would be resolved in accordance with PRC legal procedures. There remain significant uncertainties regarding how our contractual arrangements would be interpreted under PRC laws and the ultimate outcome of the resolution of disputes in relation to such contractual arrangements, should arbitration become necessary. The legal system in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. Under PRC laws, if the losing parties fail to carry out the arbitration awards within a prescribed time limit, the prevailing parties may only enforce the arbitration awards in PRC courts through arbitration award recognition proceedings, which would require additional expenses and delay. In the event we are unable to enforce these contractual arrangements, we may not be able to exert effective control over Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected. If we are unable to maintain effective control, we would not be able to continue to consolidate the financial results of our consolidated affiliated entities with our financial results.

The shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu may have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

We have designated individuals who are PRC nationals to be the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu. The equity interests of Nanjing Tuniu are held by Messrs. Dunde Yu, Haifeng Yan, Tong Wang, Jiping Wang, Xin Wen, Yongquan Tan and Haifeng Wang. The interests of these individuals as the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu may differ from the interests of our company as a whole. These shareholders may breach, or cause Nanjing Tuniu to breach, the existing contractual arrangements we have with them and Nanjing Tuniu, which would have a material and adverse effect on our ability to effectively control Nanjing Tuniu. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, any or all of these shareholders will act in the best interests of our company or such conflicts will be resolved in our favor.

Currently, we do not have any arrangements to address potential conflicts of interest between these shareholders and our company, except that we could exercise our purchase option under the purchase option agreement with these shareholders to request them to transfer all of their equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu to a PRC entity or individual designated by us, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. We rely on Messrs. Dunde Yu and Haifeng Yan, who are our founders, directors and beneficial owners, Messrs. Tong Wang, Jiping Wang, Xin Wen and Yongquan Tan, who are our beneficial owners and Mr. Haifeng Wang, who is an employee of one of our shareholders, to abide by the PRC law. If we cannot resolve any conflict of interest or dispute between us and the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu, we would have to rely on legal proceedings, which could result in disruption of our business and subject us to substantial uncertainty as to the outcome of any such legal proceedings.

Our contractual arrangements with Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders may be subject to scrutiny by the PRC tax authorities, and a finding that we owe additional taxes could substantially increase our consolidated net loss and reduce the value of your investment.

Under PRC laws and regulations, arrangements and transactions among related parties may be subject to audit or challenge by the PRC tax authorities. We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that the contractual arrangements among Beijing Tuniu, Nanjing Tuniu and the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu do not represent an arm’s-length transaction and adjust Nanjing Tuniu’s income in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could, among other things, result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of expense deductions recorded by Nanjing Tuniu, which could in turn increase its tax liabilities without reducing our tax liabilities. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may impose late payment fees and other penalties to Nanjing Tuniu for under-paid taxes. Our consolidated net loss may be increased if our tax liabilities increase or if we are found to be subject to late payment fees or other penalties.

If Nanjing Tuniu becomes the subject of a bankruptcy or liquidation proceeding, we may lose the ability to use and enjoy its assets, which could materially and adversely affect our business.

To comply with PRC laws and regulations relating to foreign ownership restrictions in the online value-added telecommunications business, we hold our ICP license and operate our business through contractual arrangements with Nanjing Tuniu as well as its shareholders. As part of these arrangements, Nanjing Tuniu holds assets that are important to the operation of our business.

We do not have priority pledges or liens against Nanjing Tuniu’s assets. As a contractual and property right matter, this lack of priority pledges and liens has remote risks. If Nanjing Tuniu undergoes an involuntary liquidation proceeding, third-party creditors may claim rights to some or all of its assets and we may not have priority against such third-party creditors on Nanjing Tuniu’s assets. If Nanjing Tuniu liquidates,undergoes a voluntary liquidation, we may take part in the liquidation procedures as a general creditor under the PRC Enterprise Bankruptcy Law and recover any outstanding liabilities owed by Nanjing Tuniu to Beijing Tuniu under the cooperation agreement between them. To ameliorate the risks of an involuntary liquidation proceeding initiated by a third-party creditor, we closely monitor the operations and finances of Nanjing Tuniu through carefully designed budgetary and internal controls to ensure that Nanjing Tuniu is well capitalized and is highly unlikely to trigger any third party monetary claims in excess of its assets and cash resources. Furthermore, Beijing Tuniu has the ability, if necessary, to provide financial support to Nanjing Tuniu to avoid such an involuntary liquidation.

If the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu were to attempt to voluntarily liquidate Nanjing Tuniu without obtaining our prior consent, we could effectively prevent such unauthorized voluntary liquidation by exercising our right to request Nanjing Tuniu’s shareholders to transfer all of their equity interests to a PRC entity or individual designated by us in accordance with the purchase option agreement with the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu, to the extent permitted by PRC laws. In the event that the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu initiate a voluntary liquidation proceeding without our authorization or attempt to distribute the retained earnings or assets of Nanjing Tuniu without our prior consent, we may need to resort to legal proceedings to enforce the terms of the contractual agreements. Any such legal proceeding may be costly and may divert our management’s time and attention away from the operation of our business, and the outcome of such legal proceeding would be uncertain.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which legal cases have limited value as precedents. In the late 1970s, the PRC government began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in general. The overall effect of legislation over the past three decades has significantly increased the protections afforded to various forms of foreign or private-sector investment in China. Our PRC subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities are subject to various PRC laws and regulations generally applicable to companies in China. However, since these laws and regulations are relatively new and the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties.

From time to time, we may have to resort to administrative and court proceedings to enforce our legal rights. However, since PRC administrative and court authorities have significant discretion in interpreting and implementing statutory and contractual terms, it may be more difficult to evaluate the outcome of administrative and court proceedings and the level of legal protection we enjoy than in more developed legal systems. Furthermore, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published in a timely manner or at all) that may have retroactive effect. As a result, we may not be aware of our violation of these policies and rules until sometime after the violation. Such uncertainties, including uncertainty over the scope and effect of our contractual, property (including intellectual property) and procedural rights, and any failure to respond to changes in the regulatory environment in China could materially and adversely affect our business and impede our ability to continue our operations.

Changes in China’s economic, political or social conditions or government policies could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

Our business operations are based in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be influenced to a significant degree by economic, political and social conditions or government policies in China generally and by continued economic growth in China as a whole.

China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including the level of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. Although the PRC government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China is still owned by the PRC government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over the PRC economic growth through allocating resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies.

While China’s economy has experienced significant growth over the past decades, growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy, and in the recent years, the growth has been slowing down. Some of the government measures may benefit the overall Chinese economy, but may have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. Any stimulus measures designed to boost the Chinese economy may contribute to higher inflation, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. For example, certain operating costs and expenses, such as employee compensation and office operating expenses, may increase as a result of higher inflation.

The PRC government regulates travel and other related industries. If we fail to obtain or maintain all pertinent permits and approvals or if the PRC government imposes more restrictions on these industries, our business may be adversely affected.

We are required to obtain applicable permits or approvals from regulatory authorities to conduct our business activities. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—PRC Regulation.” If we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals in the future, we may be subject to various penalties, such as fines or suspension of operations in these regulated businesses, which could severely disrupt our business operations. As a result, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Such classification would likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC shareholders and would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

Under the PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, that became effective on January 1, 2008, an enterprise established outside the PRC with a “de facto management body” within the PRC is considered a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes and is generally subject to a uniform 25% enterprise income tax rate on its worldwide income. Under the implementation rules to the EIT Law, or the Implementation Rules, a “de facto management body” is defined as a body that has material and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operations, personnel and human resources, finances and properties of an enterprise. In addition, SAT Circular 82, which was issued in April 2009 by the State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, specifies that certain offshore incorporated enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups will be classified as PRC resident enterprises if all of the following conditions are met: (a) senior management personnel and core management departments in charge of the daily operations of the enterprises have their presence mainly in the PRC; (b) their financial and human resources decisions are subject to determination or approval by persons or bodies in the PRC; (c) major assets, accounting books and company seals of the enterprises, and minutes and files of their board’s and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (d) half or more of the enterprises’ directors or senior management personnel with voting rights habitually reside in the PRC. Further to SAT Circular 82, the SAT issued SAT Bulletin 45, which took effect on September 1, 2011, to provide more guidance on the implementation of SAT Circular 82 and clarify the reporting and filing obligations of such “Chinese-controlled offshore-incorporated resident enterprises.” SAT Bulletin 45 provides procedures and administrative details for the determination of PRC resident enterprise status and administration on post-determination matters. Although both SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 only apply to offshore enterprises controlled by PRC enterprises or PRC enterprise groups, not those controlled by PRC individuals or foreign individuals like us, the determining criteria set forth in SAT Circular 82 and SAT Bulletin 45 may reflect the SAT’s general position on how the “de facto management body” test should be applied in determining the PRC resident enterprise status of offshore enterprises, regardless of whether they are controlled by PRC enterprises, PRC enterprise groups or by PRC or foreign individuals.

We do not believe that Tuniu Corporation meets all of the conditions above and thus we do not believe that it is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, despite the fact that all of the members of our management team as well as the management team of Tuniu (HK) Limited are located in China. However, if the PRC tax authorities determine that it is a PRC resident enterprise for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we will be subject to the uniform 25% enterprise income tax on our worldwide income, which could materially reduce our net income. In addition, we will also be subject to PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. Second, although dividends paid by one PRC tax resident to another PRC tax resident should qualify as “tax-exempt income” under the EIT Law, we cannot assure you that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax on dividends, and the PRC tax authorities have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are not controlled by any PRC enterprise or PRC enterprise group and treated as PRC resident enterprises for PRC enterprise income tax purposes.

Under the EIT Law and its Implementation Rules, subject to any applicable tax treaty or similar arrangement between the PRC and our investors’ jurisdiction of residence that provides for a different income tax arrangement, PRC withholding tax at the rate of 10% is normally applicable to dividends from PRC sources payable to investors that are non-PRC resident enterprises, which do not have an establishment or place of business in the PRC, or which have such establishment or place of business if the relevant income is not effectively connected with the establishment or place of business. Any gain realized on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares by such non-PRC resident enterprise investors is also subject to 10% PRC income tax if such gain is regarded as income derived from sources within the PRC unless a tax treaty or similar arrangement otherwise provides. Under the PRC Individual Income Tax Law and its implementation rules, dividends from sources within the PRC paid to foreign individual investors who are not PRC residents are generally subject to a PRC withholding tax at a rate of 20% and gains from PRC sources realized by such investors on the transfer of American depositary shares or shares are generally subject to 20% PRC income tax, in each case, subject to any reduction or exemption set forth in applicable tax treaties and PRC laws. It is also unclear whether dividends we pay with respect to our ordinary shares or ADSs, or the gain realized from the transfer of our ordinary shares or ADSs, would be treated as income derived from sources within the PRC and as a result be subject to PRC income tax if we were considered a PRC resident enterprise, as described above. If PRC income tax were imposed on gains realized through the transfer of our ADSs or ordinary shares or on dividends paid to our non-PRC resident investors, the value of the investment in our ADSs or ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, our ADS holders whose jurisdictions of residence have tax treaties or arrangements with China may not qualify for benefits under such tax treaties or arrangements.

We face uncertainty regarding the PRC tax reporting obligations and consequences for certain indirect transfers of our operating company’s equity interests. Enhanced scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on potential acquisitions we may pursue in the future.

In connection with the EIT Law, the PRC Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued SAT Circular 59 in April 2009, and the SAT issued SAT Circular 698 in December 2009. Both SAT Circular 59 and Circular 698 became effective retroactively on January 1, 2008.

According to SAT Circular 698, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers the equity interests of a PRC resident enterprise indirectly by disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company, or an Indirect Transfer, and the overseas holding company is located in a tax jurisdiction that: (1) has an effective tax rate of less than 12.5% or (2) does not impose tax on foreign income of its residents, the non-PRC resident enterprise, being the transferor, must report this Indirect Transfer to the relevant tax authority of the PRC resident enterprise this Indirect Transfer.enterprise. Using a “substance over form” principle, the PRC tax authority may disregard the existence of the overseas holding company if it lacks a reasonable commercial purpose and was established for the purpose of reducing, avoiding or deferring PRC tax. As a result, gains derived from such Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%. SAT Circular 698 also provides that, where a non-PRC resident enterprise transfers its equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise to its related parties at a price lower than the fair market value, the relevant tax authority has the power to make a reasonable adjustment to the taxable income resulting from the transaction. In addition, the PRC resident enterprise is supposed to provide necessary assistance to support the enforcement of SAT Circular 698.

On March 28, 2011, the SAT released SAT Public Notice (2011) No. 24, or SAT Public Notice 24, to clarify several issues related to SAT Circular 698. SAT Public Notice 24 became effective on April 1, 2011. According to SAT Public Notice 24, the term “effective tax rate” refers to the effective tax rate on the gain derived from disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company; and the term “does not impose income tax” refers to the cases where the gain derived from disposition of the equity interests of an overseas holding company is not subject to income tax in the country/region where the overseas holding company is a resident.

There is little guidance as to the application of SAT Circular 698. For example, while the term “Indirect Transfer” is not clearly defined, it is understood that the relevant PRC tax authorities have jurisdiction regarding requests for information over a wide range of foreign entities having no direct contact with China. In addition, there are no formal declarations with regard to how to determine whether a foreign investor has adopted an abusive arrangement in order to reduce, avoid or defer PRC tax. If any of the previous investments by non-PRC resident investors in our company were determined by the tax authorities to lack reasonable commercial purpose, it is possible that the PRC tax authorities would pursue our offshore shareholders to conduct a filing regarding our offshore restructuring transactions where non-PRC resident investors were involved and would request our PRC subsidiaries to assist in providing such disclosures. In addition, if our offshore subsidiaries are deemed to lack substance, they could be disregarded by the PRC tax authorities. As a result, we and our non-PRC resident investors may become at risk of being taxed under SAT Circular 698 and may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 698 or to establish that we and our non-PRC resident investors should not be taxed under SAT Circular 698, which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations or the non-PRC resident investors’ investments in us.

By promulgating and implementing these circulars, the PRC tax authorities have enhanced their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by a non-PRC resident enterprise. The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under SAT Circular 59 and SAT Circular 698 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the equity interests transferred and the cost of investment. Although we currently have no confirmed plans to pursue any acquisitions in China or elsewhere in the world, we may pursue acquisitions in the future that may involve complex corporate structures. If we are considered a non-PRC resident enterprise under the EIT Law and if the PRC tax authorities make adjustments under SAT Circular 59 or SAT Circular 698, our income tax costs associated with such potential acquisitions will be increased, which may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The SAT further released its Bulletin on Several Issues Concerning Enterprise Income Taxation on Income Arising from the Indirect Transfers of Property by Non-resident Enterprises (“SAT Bulletin 2015 No. 7” or “Bulletin 7”), which became effective on February 3, 2015. Bulletin 7 repealed the relevant Indirect Transfer provisions contained in Circular 698 and set forth more detailed rules for the tax treatment of Indirect Transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises and other assets situated in China. Bulletin 7 abolished the previous mandatory reporting requirement for Indirect Transfers under Circular 698, and provides that the parties to an Indirect Transfer transaction have the option to decide whether to report the Indirect Transfer to the competent tax authorities. Applying a “substance over form” principle, when a non-resident enterprise structures an Indirect Transfer of an equity interest in a PRC resident enterprise or other assets situated in China to avoid taxation under the EIT through arrangements lacking reasonable commercial purposes, the Indirect Transfer will be re-characterized as a direct transfer. As a result, any gains derived from the Indirect Transfer may be subject to PRC withholding tax at a rate of up to 10%. Bulletin 7 provides de facto safe harbor treatment for situations in which a non-resident enterprise buys and then sells shares, in the public securities markets, of an overseas-listed company that holds an equity interest in a PRC resident enterprise, and thereby realizes a capital gain. However, in order for the safe harbor treatment to apply, both the purchase and sale must be conducted on the public securities markets so as to preclude market manipulation, and the equity interests purchased and sold must be those in the same enterprise. When shares sold in the public securities markets were obtained before such shares were listed on a public securities market or were not purchased through a public securities market, or when shares were purchased on a public market but are to be sold through non-public markets, the safe harbor would not apply. There is uncertainty as to the interpretation and application of SAT Circular 698 and Bulletin 7. If an Indirect Transfer occurs for us, we and our non-PRC resident investors may be at risk of being taxed under SAT Circular 698 and Bulletin 7, and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with SAT Circular 698 and Bulletin 7 or to establish that we should not be taxed under SAT Circular 698 and Bulletin 7.

PRC regulations establish complex procedures for some acquisitions of PRC companies by foreign investors, which could make it more difficult for us to pursue growth through acquisitions in China.

Six PRC regulatory agencies promulgated regulations effective in September 2006 that are commonly referred to as the M&A Rules, which were amended on June 22, 2009, with such amendments becoming effective as of the same date. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—PRC Regulation.” The M&A Rules establish procedures and requirements that could make some acquisitions of PRC companies by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex, including requirements in some instances that the MOC be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. In addition, national security review rules issued by the PRC governmental authorities in 2011 require acquisitions by foreign investors of domestic companies engaged in military-related or certain other industries that are crucial to national security to be subject to prior security review. Moreover, the Anti-Monopoly Law requires that the MOC shall be notified in advance of any concentration of undertaking if certain thresholds are triggered. We may expand our business in part by acquiring complementary businesses. Complying with the requirements of the M&A Rules, security review rules and other PRC regulations to complete such transactions could be time-consuming, and any required approval processes, including obtaining approval from the MOC, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to expand our business or maintain our market share.

PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, or otherwise expose us to liabilities and penalties under PRC laws.

The PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, promulgated the Circular on Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Offshore Investment and Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37, on July 4, 2014, which replaced the former circular commonly known as “SAFE Circular 75” promulgated by SAFE in October, 2005. SAFE Circular 37 requires PRC residents to register with local branches of SAFE in connection with their direct establishment or indirect control of an offshore entity for the purpose of overseas investment and financing, with assets or equity interests of onshore companies or offshore assets or interests held by the PRC residents, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” SAFE Circular 37 further requires amendment to the registration in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increases or decreases in capital contributed by PRC residents, transfers or exchanges of shares, mergers, divisions, or other material changes. The term “control” under SAFE Circular 37 is broadly defined as the operation rights, beneficiary rights or decision-making rights acquired by the PRC residents in special purpose vehicles or PRC companies by such means as acquisition, trust, proxy, voting rights, repurchase, convertible bonds or other arrangements.

If our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC citizens or residents do not complete their registration with the local SAFE branches, our PRC subsidiaries may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to us, and we may be restricted in our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the various SAFE registration requirements described above could result in liabilities for our PRC subsidiaries under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions, including (1) the requirement by SAFE to return the foreign exchange remitted overseas within a period specified by SAFE, with a fine of up to 30% of the total amount of foreign exchange remitted overseas and deemed to have been evasive and (2) in circumstances involving serious violations, a fine of no less than 30% of and up to the total amount of remitted foreign exchange deemed evasive. Furthermore, the persons-in-charge and other persons at our PRC subsidiaries who are held directly liable for the violations may be subject to criminal sanctions.

SAFE Circular 37 provides that PRC residents include both PRC citizens, meaning any individual who holds a PRC passport or resident identification card, and individuals who are non-PRC citizens but primarily reside in the PRC due to their economic ties to the PRC. We have requested all of our known current shareholders and/or beneficial owners to disclose whether they or their shareholders or beneficial owners fall within the ambit of SAFE Circular 37 and other related rules, and urged relevant shareholders and beneficial owners, upon learning they are PRC residents, to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under SAFE Circular 37 and other related rules. However, we cannot assure you that they did successfully amend their foreign exchange registrations with the local SAFE branch in compliance with applicable laws after our initial public offering. In addition, we may not be informed of the identities of all the PRC residents holding direct or indirect interests in our company, and we cannot compel our beneficial owners to comply with the requirements of SAFE Circular 37. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents have complied with and will in the future comply with our requests to make or obtain any applicable registrations or comply with other requirements required by SAFE Circular 37 or other related rules. A failure by any of our current or future shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC residents to comply with the SAFE regulations may subject us to fines or other legal sanctions, restrict our cross-border investment activities, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Furthermore, SAFE Circular 37 was recently promulgated and it is unclear how this circular and any future regulation concerning offshore or cross-border transactions will be interpreted, amended and implemented by the relevant government authorities. We cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or future strategy. For example, we may be subject to a more stringent review and approval process with respect to our foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if we decide to acquire a PRC domestic company, either we or the owners of such company, as the case may be, may not be able to obtain the necessary approvals or complete the necessary filings and registrations required by the foreign exchange regulations. This may restrict our ability to implement our acquisition strategy and could adversely affect our business and prospects.

Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for share option plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Notices on Issues Concerning the Foreign Exchange Administration for Domestic Individuals Participating in Stock Incentive Plans of Overseas Publicly-Listed Companies, or the Stock Option Rules. Under the Stock Option Rules and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC residents who participate in stock incentive plans in an overseas publicly-listed company are required to register with SAFE or its local branches and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas publicly-listed company or another qualified institution selected by the PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of its participants. The participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of stock options, the purchase and sale of corresponding stocks or interests and fund transfers. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or the overseas entrusted institution or other material changes. See “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—PRC Regulation—Regulations on Employee Stock Option Plans.”

We and our PRC employees who have been granted share options are subject to these regulations and Beijing Tuniu as an agent has registered with the Beijing Branch of SAFE in connection with the 2008 Plan and the 2014 Plan. We have advised our employees and directors participating in our share incentive plans to handle foreign exchange matters in accordance with the Stock Option Rules. However, we cannot assure you that the share option holders can successfully register with SAFE in full compliance with the Stock Option Rules for material changes of the granted share options. Failure of our PRC share option holders or restricted shareholders to complete their SAFE registrations may subject these PRC residents to fines and legal sanctions and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business.

PRC regulation of direct investment and loans by offshore holding companies to PRC entities and governmental control of currency conversion may delay or limit us from using the proceeds of our financing activities, including our initial public offering, to make additional capital contributions or loans to our PRC subsidiaries.

Any capital contributions or loans that we, as an offshore entity, make to our PRC subsidiaries, including from the proceeds of our earlier initial public offering and concurrent private placement as well as our subsequent private placements, are subject to PRC laws and regulations. Under PRC laws and regulations, we are permitted to utilize such proceeds to fund our existing PRC subsidiaries only through loans or capital contributions or to establish new PRC subsidiaries, subject to applicable government registration and approval requirements. None of our loans to a PRC subsidiary can exceed the difference between its total amount of investment and its registered capital approved under relevant PRC laws, and the loans must be registered with the local branch of SAFE. Our capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries or establishment of new PRC subsidiaries mustshould be approved byfiled with the MOC or its local counterpart. We cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approvalfiling on a timely basis, or at all. If we fail to complete the necessary registration or obtain the necessary approval,filing, our ability to make loans or capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our PRC subsidiaries’ liquidity and their ability to fund their working capital and expansion projects and meet their obligations and commitments.

In August 2008, SAFE promulgated a SAFE Circular 142 regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested enterprise of foreign currency registered capital into Renminbi by restricting how the converted Renminbi may be used. SAFE Circular 142 provides that the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and unless otherwise provided by law, such Renminbi capital may not be used for equity investments in the PRC. Although on July 4, 2014, the SAFE issued the Circular of the SAFE on Relevant Issues Concerning the Pilot Reform in Certain Areas of the Administrative Method of the Conversion of Foreign Exchange Funds by Foreign-invested Enterprises, or SAFE Circular 36, which launched a pilot reform of the administration of the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of foreign-invested enterprises in certain designated areas from August 4, 2014 and some of the restrictions under SAFE Circular 142 will not apply to the settlement of the foreign exchange capitals of the foreign-invested enterprises established within the designate areas and such enterprises are allowed to use its Renminbi capital converted from foreign exchange capitals to make equity investment, our PRC subsidiary is not established within the designated areas. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. Circular 19 came into force and replaced both Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 allows foreign-invested enterprises to make equity investments by using Renminbi fund converted from foreign exchange capital. However, Circular 19 continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using Renminbi fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. The business scopes of Beijing Tuniu and Tuniu (Nanjing) Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Tuniu NJ Information Technology, include research and development of computer software, network information technology products, computer application systems, e-commerce systems, network security systems and computer system integration; technology services, consulting and transfers; sales of self-developed products; investment consulting; business information consulting; and conference services and public relations advice. Beijing Tuniu and Tuniu (Nanjing)NJ Information Technology Co., Ltd. may only use Renminbi converted from foreign exchange capital contribution for activities within their respective approved business scope. In addition, the use of such Renminbi capital may not be altered without SAFE approval, and such Renminbi capital may not in any case be used to repay Renminbi loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of these Circulars could result in severe monetary or other penalties. If we convert the net proceeds we receive from our earlier initial public offering and the concurrent private placement as well as our subsequent private placement into Renminbi pursuant to these Circulars, our use of Renminbi funds for general corporate purposes will be within the business scopes of our PRC subsidiaries. However, we may not be able to use such Renminbi funds to make equity investments in the PRC through our PRC subsidiaries.

Furthermore, SAFE promulgated a SAFE Circular 45 in November 2011, which, among other things, restricts a foreign-invested enterprise from using Renminbi converted from its registered capital to provide entrusted loans or repay loans between non-financial enterprises. Circular 45 was abolished on March 19, 2015. These SAFE Circulars may significantly limit our ability to use Renminbi converted from the net proceeds of our earlier financing activities to fund establishment of new PRC subsidiaries by Beijing Tuniu or Tuniu (Nanjing)NJ Information Technology Co., Ltd. to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies, or to establish new PRC consolidated affiliated entities.

Our PRC subsidiaries are subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments to us, which may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. We may need dividends and other distributions on equity from our PRC subsidiaries to satisfy our liquidity requirements. Current PRC regulations permit our PRC subsidiaries to pay dividends to us only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries are required to set aside at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the total amount set aside reaches 50% of their respective registered capital. Our PRC subsidiaries may also allocate a portion of its after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to employee welfare and bonus funds at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Furthermore, if our PRC subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments to us. In addition, the PRC tax authorities may require us to adjust our taxable income under the contractual arrangements among Beijing Tuniu, Nanjing Tuniu and the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu in a manner that would materially and adversely affect Beijing Tuniu’s ability to pay dividends and other distributions to us. Any limitation on the ability of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends to us or on the ability of Nanjing Tuniu to make payments to us may restrict our ability to satisfy our liquidity requirements.

We may not be able to obtain certain treaty benefits on dividends paid to us by our PRC subsidiaries through our Hong Kong subsidiary.

Under the EIT Law, dividends generated from retained earnings after January 1, 2008 from a PRC company and distributed to a foreign parent company are subject to a withholding tax rate of 10% unless the foreign parent’s jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China that provides for a preferential withholding arrangement. Pursuant to the Arrangement between Mainland China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, or the Hong Kong Tax Treaty, which became effective on December 8, 2006, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, such as Tuniu (HK) Limited, will be subject to withholding income tax at a rate of 5% on dividends it receives from its PRC subsidiaries, if it holds a 25% or more interest in that particular PRC subsidiary, or 10% if it holds less than a 25% interest in that subsidiary. However, the SAT promulgated SAT Circular 601 on October 27, 2009, which provides that tax treaty benefits will be denied to “conduit” or shell companies without business substance, and that “substance over form” principles will be used to determine beneficial ownership for purposes of receiving tax treaty benefits. On June 29, 2012, the SAT further issued the Announcement of the SAT regarding Recognition of “Beneficial Owner” under Tax Treaties, or Announcement 30, which provides that a comprehensive analysis should be made when determining the beneficial owner status based on various factors supported by various types of documents including the articles of association, financial statements, records of cash movements, board meeting minutes, board resolutions, staffing and materials, relevant expenditures, functions and risk assumption as well as relevant contracts and other information. As a result, although our PRC subsidiaries, Beijing Tuniu and Tuniu (Nanjing)NJ Information Technology, Co., Ltd., are currently wholly owned by our Hong Kong subsidiary, Tuniu (HK) Limited, we cannot assure you that we would be entitled to the tax treaty benefits and enjoy the favorable 5% rate applicable under the Hong Kong Tax Treaty. If Tuniu (HK) Limited is not recognized as the beneficial owner of the dividends paid to it by Beijing Tuniu or Tuniu (Nanjing)NJ Information Technology, Co., Ltd., such dividends will be subject to a normal withholding tax of 10% as provided by the EIT Law.

Discontinuation or revocation of any of the preferential tax treatments and government subsidies or imposition of any additional taxes or surcharges could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our PRC subsidiaries are incorporated in the PRC and governed by applicable PRC tax laws and regulations. The EIT Law and its Implementation Rules have adopted a uniform statutory enterprise income tax rate of 25% to all enterprises in China, including foreign-invested enterprises. The EIT Law and its Implementation Rules also permit qualified “high and new technology enterprises,” or HNTEs, to enjoy a preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15% upon filing with the relevant tax authorities. The qualification as a HNTE is generally effective for a term of three years and the renewal of such qualification is subject to review by the relevant authorities in China. Nanjing Tuniu obtained its HNTE certificate in 2010 with a valid period of three years and successfully renewed such certificate in December 2013 for additional three years and December 2016 for another three years. Therefore, Nanjing Tuniu is eligible to enjoy a preferential tax rate of 15% from 20132014 to 20152016 to the extent it has taxable income under the EIT Law, as long as it maintains the HNTE qualification and duly conducts relevant EIT filing procedures with the relevant tax authority. If Nanjing Tuniu fails to maintain its HNTE qualification or renew its qualification when its current term expires, its applicable enterprise income tax rate may increase to 25%, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our PRC subsidiaries have received various financial subsidies from PRC local government authorities. Preferential tax treatments and financial subsidies are subject to review and may be adjusted or revoked at any time in the future. The discontinuation of any preferential tax treatments or financial subsidies or imposition of any additional taxes or surcharges could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Fluctuations in exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.

We generate all of our revenues and incur substantially all of our expenses in Renminbi, and substantially all of our sales and supply contracts are denominated in Renminbi. As a result, fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and Renminbi will affect the relative purchasing power in Renminbi terms of our U.S. dollar assets and the proceeds received from our earlier initial public offering, related concurrent private placement and our subsequent private placements which took place in December 2014 and May 2015. As the functional currency for our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated PRC entities is Renminbi, fluctuations in the exchange rates may also cause us to incur foreign exchange losses on any foreign currency holdings they may have. In addition, appreciation or depreciation in the value of Renminbi relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. If we decide to convert our Renminbi into U.S. dollars for the purpose of making payments for dividends on our ordinary shares or for other business purposes, appreciation of U.S. dollar against Renminbi would have a negative effect on the U.S. dollar amount available to us.

The value of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar and other currencies is affected by changes in China’s political and economic conditions and by China’s foreign exchange policies, among other things. In July 2005, the PRC government changed its decades-old policy of pegging the value of the Renminbi to the U.S. dollar, and the Renminbi appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar over the following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the Renminbi has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. The Renminbi has been weakening against U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2016. It is difficult to predict when a reversion will occur and how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the U.S. dollar in the future. Any significant appreciation or depreciation of the Renminbi may materially and adversely affect our revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, to the extent that we need to convert the U.S. dollars we received from our initial public offering into Renminbi to pay our operating expenses, any appreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar would have an adverse effect on the Renminbi amount we would receive from the conversion. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the amount of the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

Very limited hedging options are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to adequately hedge our exposure or at all. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert Renminbi into foreign currencies. As a result, fluctuations in exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on your investment.

The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may have been required in connection with our earlier initial public offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, and, if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approval.

Six PRC regulatory agencies, including the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or the CSRC, promulgated the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and was subsequently amended. The M&A Rules, among other things, require offshore special purpose vehicles controlled by PRC companies or individuals formed for the purpose of an overseas listing of such PRC companies’ or individuals’ interests in PRC domestic companies to obtain the CSRC’s approval prior to listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. The application of this regulation remains unclear. Our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, has advised us that, based on its understanding of the current PRC laws, rules and regulations, we are not required to submit an application to the CSRC for its approval of the listing and trading of our ADSs on the NASDAQ Global Market, because:

There is uncertainty as to how this regulation will be interpreted or implemented. If it is determined that the CSRC approval was required for our initial public offering, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or other PRC regulatory agencies for failure to seek the CSRC’s approval for our initial public offering. These sanctions may include fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, delays or restrictions on the repatriation of the proceeds from our initial public offering into the PRC, restrictions on or prohibition of the payments or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries, or other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ADSs.

Online payment systems in China are at an early stage of development and may restrict our ability to expand our online business.

Online payment systems in China are at an early stage of development. Although major Chinese banks are instituting online payment systems, these systems are not as widely acceptable to consumers in China as in the United States and other developed countries. The lack of wide acceptance of online payment systems and concerns regarding the adequacy of system security may limit the number of online commercial transactions that we can service. If online payment services and their security capabilities are not significantly enhanced, our ability to grow our online business may be limited.

The Internet market has not been proven as an effective commercial medium in China. The Internet penetration rate in China is lower than those in the United States and other developed countries. Our future results of operations from online business will depend substantially upon the increased use and acceptance of the Internet for distribution of products and services and facilitation of commerce in China.

The Internet may not become a viable commercial medium in China for various reasons in the foreseeable future. More salient impediments to Internet development in China include:

If the Internet is not widely accepted as a medium for online commerce in China, our ability to grow our online business would be impeded.

Implementation of laws and regulations relating to data privacy in China could adversely affect our business.

Certain data and services collected, provided or used by us or provided to and used by us are currently subject to regulation in certain jurisdictions, including China. The PRC Constitution states that PRC laws protect the freedom and privacy of communications of citizens and prohibit infringement of such basic rights, and the PRC Contract Law prohibits contracting parties from disclosing or misusing the trade secrets of the other party. Further, companies or their employees who illegally trade or disclose customer data may face criminal charges. Although the definition and scope of “privacy” and “trade secret” remain relatively ambiguous under PRC laws, growing concerns about individual privacy and the collection, distribution and use of information about individuals have led to national and local regulations that could increase our expenses.

In December 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress enacted the Decision to Enhance the Protection of Network Information, or the Information Protection Decision, to further enhance the protection of users’ personal information in electronic form. The Information Protection Decision provides that Internet information services providers must expressly inform their users of the purpose, manner and scope of the collection and use of users’ personal information by Internet information services providers, publish the Internet information services providers standards for their collection and use of users’ personal information, and collect and use users’ personal information only with the consent of the users and only within the scope of such consent. The Information Protection Decision also mandates that Internet information services providers and their employees keep users’ personal information that they collect strictly confidential, and that they must take such technical and other measures as are necessary to safeguard the information against disclosure, damages and loss.Pursuant to the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in August 2015 and becoming effective in November 2015, any internet service provider that fails to fulfill the obligations related to internet information security administration as required by applicable laws and refuses to rectify upon orders, shall be subject to criminal penalty for the result of (i) any dissemination of illegal information in large scale; (ii) any severe effect due to the leakage of the client’s information; (iii) any serious loss of criminal evidence; or (iv) other severe situation, and any individual or entity that (i) sells or provides personal information to others in a way violating the applicable law, or (ii) steals or illegally obtain any personal information, shall be subject to criminal penalty in severe situation.Compliance with current regulations and regulations that may come into effect in these areas may increase our expenses related to regulatory compliance, which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Regulation and censorship of information distribution over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business, and we may be liable for information displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our website.

The PRC government has adopted regulations governing Internet access and the distribution of information over the Internet. Under these regulations, Internet content providers and Internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the Internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China or the public interest, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in the revocation of licenses to provide Internet content and other licenses, the closure of the concerned websites. A website operator may also be held liable for such censored information displayed on or linked to its website. For a detailed discussion, see “Item 4.B. Information on the Company—Business Overview—PRC Regulation—Regulations on Information Security and Censorship.” We have a team dedicated to screening and monitoring content published on our online platform and removing prohibited content. However, we may have difficulty identifying and removing all illegal content displayed on or linked to our website, which could expose us to the penalties described above.

Increases in labor costs in the PRC may adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The economy of China has been experiencing increases in inflation and labor costs in recent years. As a result, the average wage in the PRC is expected to continue to grow. In addition, we are required by PRC laws and regulations to pay various statutory employee benefits, including pensions, housing fund, medical insurance, work-related injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance to designated government agencies for the benefit of our employees. The relevant government agencies may examine whether an employer has made adequate payments of the requisite statutory employee benefits, and those employers who fail to make adequate payments may be subject to late payment fees, fines and/or other penalties. If the relevant PRC authorities determine that we shall make supplemental social insurance and housing fund contributions and that we are subject to fines and legal sanctions, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected. We expect that our labor costs, including wages and employee benefits, will continue to increase. Unless we are able to pass on these increased labor costs to our customers by increasing the prices of our products and services, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We face certain risks relating to the real properties that we lease.

We lease real properties from third parties primarily for our office use in the PRC. Our leasehold interests in a number of these leased properties may be defective as a result of the lessors’ lack of proper title or right to lease. As a result, we cannot assure you that our leasehold interests will not be challenged. In addition, we have not registered the vast majority of our lease agreements with the relevant PRC governmental authorities as required by PRC law, and although failure to do so does not in itself invalidate the leases, we may not be able to defend these leases against bona fide third parties. As of the date of this annual report, we are not subject to any actions, claims or investigations pending or threatened in writing by government authorities or third parties with respect to defects in our leased properties. However, if third parties who purport to be property owners or beneficiaries of the mortgaged properties challenge our right to lease these properties, we may not be able to protect our leasehold interests and may be ordered to vacate the affected premises, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

The audit report included in this annual report is prepared by an auditor who is not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Auditors of companies that are registered with the SEC and traded publicly in the United States, including our independent registered public accounting firm, must be registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB, and are required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess their compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditor is located in the Peoples’ Republic of China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditor is not currently inspected by the PCAOB. In May 2013, PCAOB announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Enforcement Cooperation with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance, which establishes a cooperative framework between the parties for the production and exchange of audit documents relevant to investigations undertaken by PCAOB, the CSRC or the PRC Ministry of Finance in the United States and the PRC, respectively. PCAOB continues to be in discussions with the CSRC and the PRC Ministry of Finance to permit joint inspections in the PRC of audit firms that are registered with PCAOB and audit Chinese companies that trade on U.S. exchanges.

This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating audits and quality control procedures of any auditors operating in China, including our auditor. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections. The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

Additional remedial measures could be imposed on certain PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings instituted by the SEC, as a result of which our financial statements may be determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, if at all.

In December 2012, the SEC brought administrative proceedings against the PRC-based affiliates of the Big Four accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, alleging that they had violated U.S. securities laws by failing to provide audit work papers and other documents related to certain other PRC-based companies under investigation by the SEC. On January 22, 2014, an initial administrative law decision was issued, censuring and suspending these accounting firms from practicing before the SEC for a period of six months. The decision was neither final nor legally effective until reviewed and approved by the SEC, and on February 12, 2014, the PRC-based accounting firms appealed to the SEC against this decision. In February 2015, each of the four PRC-based accounting firms agreed to a censure and to pay a fine to the SEC to settle the dispute and avoid suspension of their ability to practice before the SEC. The settlement requires the firms to follow detailed procedures to seek to provide the SEC with access to such firms’ audit documents via the CSRC. If the firms do not follow these procedures or if there is a failure in the process between the SEC and the CSRC, the SEC could impose penaltiestentative administrative measures such as suspensions,suspension of practice, or it could restart the administrative proceedings.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about the proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding PRC-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm was denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ordinary shares from the Nasdaq Global Market or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

Risks Related to Our ADSs

The trading prices of our ADSs have fluctuated and may continue to be volatile.

The trading prices of our ADSs have fluctuated since we first listed our ADSs. From the time our ADSs became listed on NASDAQ on May 9, 2014 through April 22, 2016,13, 2017, the trading price of our ADSs has ranged from US$8.997.62 to US$24.0024.99 per ADS, and the last reported trading price on April 22, 201613, 2017 was US$11.558.01 per ADS. The prices of our ADSs may continue to fluctuate because of broad market and industry factors, like the performance and fluctuation of the market prices of other companies with business operations located mainly in China that have listed their securities in the United States. The widespread negative publicity of alleged fraudulent accounting practices and poor corporate governance of certain U.S. public companies with operations in China in recent years were believed to have negatively affected investors’ perception and sentiment towards companies with connection with China, which significantly and negatively affected the trading prices of some companies’ securities listed in the U.S. Any similar negative publicity or sentiment may affect the performances of our ADSs. The securities of some PRC companies that have listed their securities on U.S. stock markets have experienced significant volatility. The trading performances of these PRC companies’ securities after their offerings may affect the attitudes of investors toward PRC companies listed in the United States in general and consequently may impact the trading performance of our ADSs, regardless of our actual operating performance. The trading prices of our ADSs may also be affected by changes in the U.S. stock markets in general.

In addition to market and industry factors, the price and trading volume for our ADSs may be highly volatile for factors specific to our own operations, including the following:

Any of these factors may result in large and sudden changes in the volume and price at which our ADSs trade.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our ADSs, the market price for our ADSs and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our ADSs will be influenced by research or reports that securities or industry analysts publish about our business. If one or more analysts who cover us downgrade our ADSs, or publish unfavorable research about us, the market price for our ADSs would likely decline. Failure to meet expectations driven by analyst research or reports, even by aggressive research or reports, may cause the market price of our ADSs to decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which, in turn, could cause the market price or trading volume for our ADSs to decline.

Our dual class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of our Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial.

Our ordinary shares are divided into Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote per share, while holders of Class B ordinary shares are entitled to ten votes per share, with Class A and Class B ordinary shares voting together as one class on all matters subject to a shareholders’ vote. Due to the disparate voting powers attached to these two classes of ordinary shares, holders of our Class B ordinary shares collectively beneficially owned approximately 4.6%4.58% of our outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2016,2017, representing 32.5%32.41% of our total voting power. Currently, our directors and officers beneficially own an aggregate of 75.5%78.55% of our outstanding shares representing 82.7%84.66% of our total voting power.

As a result of the dual class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders of our Class B ordinary shares have substantial influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. They may take actions that are not in the best interest of us or our other shareholders. This concentration of ownership may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of our ADSs. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of Class A ordinary shares and ADSs may view as beneficial. For more information regarding our principal shareholders and their affiliated entities, see “Item 7.A. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—Major Shareholders.”

The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of our ADSs could adversely affect their market price.

Sales of substantial amounts of our ADSs in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of our ADSs and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. Shares heldAs of March 31, 2017, we had 379,637,335 ordinary shares outstanding, comprising of (i) 362,263,835 Class A ordinary shares (excluding the 1,594,209 Class A ordinary shares, represented by our existing shareholders may be soldADSs, issued and reserved for the future exercise of options or the vesting of other awards under the 2008 Plan and the 2014 Plan), and (ii) 17,373,500 Class B ordinary shares. Among these shares, 94,138,998 Class A ordinary shares are in the public market inform of ADSs, which are freely transferable by persons other than our affiliates without restriction or additional registration under the futureSecurities Act. The remaining Class A ordinary shares outstanding will be available for sale, subject to thevolume and other restrictions in Ruleas applicable under Rules 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act and any applicable lock-up agreements. As of March 31, 2016, there were a total of 30,863,638 ADSs (equivalent to 92,590,914 Class A ordinary shares) outstanding.Act. We cannot predict what effect, if any, market sales of securities held by our significant shareholders or any other shareholder or the availability of these securities for future sale will have on the market price of our ADSs. In addition, certain holders of our Class B ordinary shares are entitled to certain registration rights in the event that specified conditions are met, including demand registration rights, piggyback registration rights, and Form F-3 or Form S-3 registration rights. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration. Sales of these registered shares in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could cause the price of our ADSs to decline.

We may be classified as a passive foreign investment company for United States federal income tax purposes, which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to United States investors in the ADSs or ordinary shares.

Under United States federal income tax law, we will be classified as a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC, for any taxable year, if either (a) 75% or more of our gross income for such year consists of certain types of “passive” income or (b) 50% or more of the value of our assets (as determined on the basis of a quarterly average) during such year produce or are held for the production of passive income (the “asset test”). Although the law in this regard is unclear, we treat Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries as being owned by us for United States federal income tax purposes, not only because we exercise effective control over their operations, but also because we are entitled to substantially all of their economic benefits, and, as a result, we consolidate their operating results in our consolidated financial statements. If it were determined that we are not the owner of our consolidated affiliated entities for United States federal income tax purposes, our risk of being classifiedwe would likely be treated as a PFIC may substantially increase.for the current year or any future taxable year. Assuming that we are the owner of Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries for United States federal income tax purposes, and based upon our income and assets and the value of our ADSs and ordinary shares, we do not believe that we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2015 and do not anticipate becoming a PFIC in the foreseeable future.2016.

While we do not anticipate becomingbelieve we were a PFIC infor the foreseeable future,taxable year ended December 31, 2016, no assurance can be given in this regardwith respect to our PFIC status for the current taxable year or any future taxable year because the determination of whether we will be or become a PFIC is a fact-intensive inquiry made on an annual basis that depends, in part, on the composition of our income and assets. Fluctuations in the market price of our ADSs may cause us to become a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years because the value of assets for the purpose of the asset test may be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs from time to time (which may be volatile). The composition of our income and assets may also be affected by how, and how quickly, we use our liquid assets. Under circumstances where our revenue from activities that produce passive income significantly increase relative to our revenue from activities that produce non-passive income, or where we determine not to deploy significant amounts of cash for active purposes, our risk of becoming classified as a PFIC may substantially increase. In addition, because there are uncertainties in the application of the relevant rules, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service may challenge our classification of certain income and assets as non-passive or our valuation of our tangible and intangible assets, each of which may result in our becoming a PFIC for the current or subsequent taxable years.

If we are classified as a PFIC in any taxable year, a U.S. Holder (as defined in “Item 10.E. Additional Information—Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations”) may incur significantly increased United States federal income tax on gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as an “excess distribution” under the United States federal income tax rules, and such U.S. Holders may be subject to burdensome reporting requirements. Further, if we are classified as a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds our ADSs or ordinary shares. For more information, see “Item 10.E. Additional Information—Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands (2013(2016 Revision) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take actions against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from the common law of England, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding, on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities laws than the United States. Some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action in a federal court of the United States.

The Cayman Islands courts are also unlikely:

There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce a non-penal judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a company incorporated in the United States. For a discussion of significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands (2013(2016 Revision) and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see “Item 10.B. Additional Information—Memorandum and Articles of Association—Differences in Corporate Law.”

Judgments obtained against us by our shareholders may not be enforceable.

We are a Cayman Islands company and all of our assets are located outside of the United States. Our current operations are based in China. In addition, some of our current directors and executive officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. Substantially all of the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the United States federal securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

The voting rights of holders of ADSs are limited by the terms of the deposit agreement, and you may not be able to exercise your right to vote your Class A ordinary shares.

Holders of our ADSs are only able to exercise the voting rights with respect to the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreement. Under the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs must vote by giving voting instructions to the depositary. Upon receipt of those voting instructions, the depositary will vote the underlying Class A ordinary shares in accordance with those instructions. Holders of our ADSs are not able to directly exercise their right to vote with respect to the underlying shares unless they withdraw the shares. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the minimum notice period required for convening a general meeting is 14 calendar days. When a general meeting is convened, holders of our ADSs may not receive sufficient advance notice to withdraw the shares underlying their ADSs to allow them to vote with respect to any specific matter. If we ask for instructions from the holders of our ADSs, the depositary will notify the holders of our ADSs of the upcoming vote and will arrange to deliver our voting materials to them. We cannot assure holders of our ADSs that they will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that they can instruct the depositary to vote their shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for their manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that holders of our ADSs may not be able to exercise their right to vote and may have no legal remedy if the shares underlying their ADSs are not voted as requested.

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to United States domestic public companies.

Because we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including:

We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we publish our results on a quarterly basis as press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Global Market. Press releases relating to financial results and material events are also furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC is less extensive and less timely as compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by United States domestic issuers. As a Cayman Islands company listed on the NASDAQ Global Market, we are subject to the NASDAQ Global Market corporate governance listing standards. However, NASDAQ Global Market rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of its home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, our home country, may differ significantly from the NASDAQ Global Market corporate governance listing standards. See “Item 16G. Corporate Governance.” Although we do not currently plan to further utilize the home country exemption for corporate governance matters, to the extent that we choose to do so in the future, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they otherwise would under the NASDAQ Global Market corporate governance listing standards applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. As a result, you may not be afforded the same protections or information, which would be made available to you, were you investing in a United States domestic issuer.

Because we do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future, ADS holders must rely on price appreciation of our ADSs for return on their investment.

We do not anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends on our ordinary shares, or indirectly on our ADSs, for the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions relating to indebtedness we may incur, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deem relevant. Accordingly, for holders of our ADSs, realization of a gain on their investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of our ADSs, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our ADSs.

Holders of our ADSs may not receive dividends or other distributions on our Class A ordinary shares and may not receive any value for them, if it is illegal or impractical to make them available.

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to holders of our ADSs the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on Class A ordinary shares or other deposited securities underlying our ADSs, after deducting its fees and expenses. Holders of our ADSs will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of Class A ordinary shares their ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. For example, it would be unlawful to make a distribution to a holder of ADSs if it consists of securities that require registration under the Securities Act but that are not properly registered or distributed under an applicable exemption from registration. The depositary may also determine that it is not feasible to distribute certain property through the mail. Additionally, the value of certain distributions may be less than the cost of mailing them. In these cases, the depositary may determine not to distribute such property. We have no obligation to register under U.S. securities laws any ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities received through such distributions. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that holders of our ADSs may not receive distributions we make on our Class A ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available. These restrictions may cause a material decline in the value of our ADSs.

Holders of our ADSs may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution of your holdings.

We may, from time to time, distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire securities. Under the deposit agreement, the depositary will not distribute rights to holders of ADSs unless the distribution and sale of rights and the securities to which these rights relate are either exempt from registration under the Securities Act with respect to all holders of ADSs, or are registered under the provisions of the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, attempt to sell these undistributed rights to third parties, and may allow the rights to lapse. We may be unable to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act, and we are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to these rights or underlying securities or to endeavor to have a registration statement declared effective. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution of their holdings as a result.

Holders of our ADSs may be subject to limitations on transfer of our ADSs.

Our ADSs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. The depositary may close its books from time to time for a number of reasons, including in connection with corporate events such as a rights offering, during which time the depositary needs to maintain an exact number of ADS holders on its books for a specified period. The depositary may also close its books in emergencies, and on weekends and public holidays. The depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of our ADSs generally when our share register or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary thinks it is advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

We incur increased costs as a result of being a public company.

As a public company, we incur significant accounting, legal and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ, have detailed requirements concerning corporate governance practices of public companies, including Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act relating to internal controls over financial reporting. We expect these rules and regulations applicable to public companies to increase our accounting, legal and financial compliance costs and to make certain corporate activities more time-consuming and costly. Our management will be required to devote substantial time and attention to our public company reporting obligations and other compliance matters. We are currently evaluating and monitoring developments with respect to these rules and regulations, and we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs. Our reporting and other compliance obligations as a public company may place a strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future.

In the past, shareholders of a public company often brought securities class action suits against the company following periods of instability in the market price of that company’s securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations, which could harm our results of operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We began our operation in China through Nanjing Tuniu, a PRC company formed in December 2006. Nanjing Tuniu acquired 100% of the equity interests in Shanghai Tuniu International Travel Service Co., Ltd., Nanjing Tuniu International Travel Service Co., Ltd. and Beijing Tuniu International Travel Service Co., Ltd. in August 2008, December 2008 and November 2009, respectively. Nanjing Tuniu established Nanjing Tuzhilv Tickets Sales Co., Ltd. in April 2011.

In June 2008, we incorporated Tuniu Corporation under the laws of the Cayman Islands as our offshore holding company in order to facilitate international financing. In May 2011, we established our wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary, Tuniu (HK) Limited.

We completed our initial public offering and listed our ADSs on the NASDAQ under the symbol “TOUR” in May 2014. At the time of our initial public offering, we also entered into a concurrent private placement with three investors.

In December 2014, we entered into a share subscription agreement with Unicorn Riches Limited, a special purpose vehicle of Hony Capital, JD.com E-commerce (Investment) Hong Kong Corporation Limited, a special purpose vehicle of JD.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: JD), Ctrip Investment Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP) and the respective personal holding companies of Tuniu’s chief executive officer and chief operating officer, pursuant to which we sold a total of 36,812,868 newly issued Class A ordinary shares for US$148 million.

In May 2015, we entered into a share subscription agreement with each of Fabulous Jade Global Limited, a subsidiary of JD.com, Inc., Unicorn Riches Limited, a special purpose vehicle of Hony Capital, DCM Ventures China Turbo Fund, L.P. and DCM Ventures China Turbo Affiliates Fund, L.P., both affiliates of DCM V, L.P., Ctrip Investment Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Ctrip.com International, Ltd., Esta Investments Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Temasek Holdings and Sequoia Capital 2010 CV Holdco, Ltd, an affiliate of Sequoia Capital, pursuant to which we sold a total of 93,750,000 newly issued Class A ordinary shares for US$500 million.

In November 2015, we entered into a share subscription agreement with HNA Tourism Group, or HNA Tourism, pursuant to which an affiliate of HNA Tourism purchased 90,909,091 newly issued Class A ordinary shares from us for US$500 million in January 2016.

During the year ended December 31, 2015, we acquired 100%, 100%, 75% and 80% of equity interests of four offline travel agencies, respectively. We gained access to the expanding Taiwan tourism market and improved the capability in the direct procurement of products with these acquisitions. The total purchase price was RMB119.5RMB115.5 million, (US$18.4 million), which included cash consideration of RMB104.2RMB100.2 million (US$16.0 million) and RMB15.3 million, (US$2.4 million), the fair value of contingent cash consideration to be made based on the achievement of certain revenue and profit target over the next three to four years.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, we acquired 100% of equity interests of one offline travel agency, to further expand our oversea tourism market and promote our destination service. The total purchase price was RMB28.1 million (US$4.0 million), which included cash consideration of RMB16.5 million (US$2.4 million) and RMB11.6 million (US$1.6 million), the fair value of contingent cash consideration to be made based on the achievement of certain revenue and profit target over the next four years.

Tuniu Corporation established a wholly owned PRC subsidiary, Beijing Tuniu, in September 2008. Tuniu (HK) Limited established another wholly owned PRC subsidiary, Tuniu (Nanjing) Information Technology Co., Ltd., in August 2011, and acquired 100% of the equity interests in Beijing Tuniu in September 2011. Through Beijing Tuniu, we obtained control over Nanjing Tuniu by entering into a series of contractual arrangements, including purchase option agreement, equity interest pledge agreement, shareholders’ voting rights agreement, powers of attorney and cooperation agreement, with Nanjing Tuniu and its shareholders. Nanjing Tuniu holds our ICP licenses as an Internet content provider and operates our website. Beijing Tuniu International Travel Service Co., Ltd. and Nanjing Tuniu International Travel Service Co. Ltd., both of which are Nanjing Tuniu’s subsidiaries, hold our operation permits for overseas travel business.

These contractual arrangements allow us to:

As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are the primary beneficiary of Nanjing Tuniu, and we treat it and its subsidiaries as consolidated affiliated entities under U.S. GAAP. We have consolidated the financial results of Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Our principal executive offices are located at Tuniu Building No. 699-32 Xuanwudadao, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province 210042, the People’s Republic of China. Our telephone number at this address is +86 (25) 8685-3969. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at International Corporation Services Ltd., P.O. Box 472, 2nd Floor, Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, George Town, Grand Cayman KY1-1106, Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Law Debenture Corporate Services Inc., located at 400 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

See “Item 5.B. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Capital Expenditures” for a discussion of our capital expenditures.

We offer a large selection of packaged tours, including organized tours and self-guided tours, as well as travel-related services for leisure travelers. Our online platform, which comprises ourtuniu.com website and mobile platform, provides comprehensive product and travel information through user-friendly interfaces to enable leisure travelers to plan their travels and search for itineraries that best suit their needs. Our online platform contains travel guides featuring photos, information and recommendations for all destinations we cover, as well as user-generated content that serves as valuable references for other travelers.

To cultivate customer loyalty and ensure customer satisfaction, we complement our online platform with an extensive nationwide service network, including our primary call center in Nanjing, a regional call center in Guangzhou and 160 regional service centers located in 154 cities across China as of December 31, 2015. In 2015, we executed our regional expansion strategy by adding 85 regional service centers throughout China. As of December 31, 2015, we had a team of over 1,400 well-trained tour advisors to closely assist customers throughout their booking process. We believe that our high-quality customer service has contributed to the continuous growth in our customer base. The total number of trips sold by us grew from approximately 2,182,000 in 2014 to approximately 4,449,000 in 2015.

Our recognized brand in leisure travel and growing customer base enable us to source a broad range of products from high-quality travel suppliers at competitive prices. We rigorously select our travel suppliers to ensure quality and reliability. We have developed our proprietary supply chain management system—N-Booking system—to streamline our interactions with travel suppliers, allowing them to receive booking information real-time, through the web or mobile devices to more efficiently manage travel products and better understand customer preferences. In 2016, we upgraded our supplier management system and data analytics system in order to better facilitate the cooperation between our suppliers and us. In addition, to further broaden the range of our products and better serve our customers, we enter into strategic agreements with various industry partners from time to time. For example, in December 2014, we entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Ctrip.com International, Ltd., a leading travel service provider in China, in order to expand our collaboration on shared travel resources. In November 2015, we formed a strategic partnership with HNA Tourism, under which HNA Tourism undertook to provide us with its premium airline and hotel resources at a preferential rate, under fair competition market rules. In 2016, we introduced an installment payment option to our customers for both air tickets and hotels in order to allow the younger generation and the more price sensitive customers to travel more conveniently, which reflects our continuous implementation of our core principle in optimizing customer experience.

Our Products and Services

We offer a wide array of packaged tours and other travel-related services to meet the diverse travel needs and preferences of leisure travelers in China. Our packaged tours consist of organized tours and self-guided tours. Our core strength is in overseas leisure travel products and services, which contributed over 65%63.8% of our packaged tour gross bookings in 2015.2016.

Organized Tours

Our organized tours offer the benefits of pre-arranged itineraries, transportation, accommodations, entertainment, meals and tour guide services. By booking an organized tour with us, our customers can achieve cost savings compared to booking each component separately and enjoy a pleasant and hassle-free travel experience.

Our organized tours cover over 150 countries and regions worldwide, including nearly all of the popular tourist destinations among Chinese travelers, such as Europe, Thailand, Indonesia (Bali), the Maldives, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong,Middle East, Africa and the United States, and Saipan Islands, as well as all of the popular tourist attractions in China. Organized tours are particularly popular for overseas destinations with language or cultural barriers.

Our organized tour product portfolio also includes local tours, which mainly consist of weekend getaways and themed tours, such as water-village tours, historical-town tours, ski tours and hot spring tours, and mainly target customers who want to spend one to three days away from their departing cities. Typically, local tours have a lower average gross bookings per trip as compared to other types of organized tours.

In addition, to address the needs of group travelers who cannot be satisfied bywith off-the-shelf standard packaged travel products, such as companies planning travel retreats and families planning group tours, we provide customized tours to cater to such specific travel needs. Our group travel tour advisors work closely with our travel suppliers and our customers to design travel products and itineraries that meet such customers’ unique needs.

Self-guided Tours

Our self-guided tours consist of combinations of flights and hotel bookings and other optional add-ons, such as airport pick-ups. These products are offered at attractive prices compared to booking each travel product separately. Our self-guided tours target leisure travelers who prefer greater flexibility during their vacations and who do not need tour guide services. Due to the breadth of our travel suppliers, we are able to provide a wide selection of self-guided tours, covering a large number of hotels and airlines, and have developed the most comprehensive product offerings for selected popular destinations.

Other Travel-Related Services

Our other travel-related services comprise mainly sales of tourist attraction tickets, visa processing services, financial services, hotel booking services and air ticketing services. We earn a commission or service fee on these services. In addition, we provide advertising services to domestic and foreign tourism boards and bureaus on our online platform.

Our Online Platform and Offline Service Network

We reach and serve customers through multiple online and offline channels, including ourtuniu.comwebsite, mobile platform, a primary call center in Nanjing, a regional call center in Guangzhou and as of December 31, 2015, 160our other regional service centers in 154 cities across China.

Our online platform provides our customers with the tools and information to conveniently plan, book and purchase travel products and services. In addition, our online platform presents comprehensive product information and travel requirements through user-friendly interfaces for leisure travelers to easily search for, compare and place orders for product offerings that best suit their needs. As of December 31, 2015, we had over 1,400We have well-trained tour advisors and over 350 customer service representatives located at our centralized call center to supplement our online transaction infrastructure by providing our customers with professional advice and guidance throughout their travel planning and bookings process as well as timely support before and during their travels. The inclusion of a customer-focused, service network is particularly important to customers of our travel products with high selling prices as these customers usually demand more assistance and attention in their travel planning.

Our Website

Our website,tuniu.com, provides a one-stop travel platform for our customers to do everything from researching travel destinations to booking travel products. In addition to our product information such as tour duration, departure time and destination descriptions, our website features comprehensive travel advice ranging from basic information to professional and user recommendations and travelers’ reviews for the destinations we cover. Users can post questions regarding specific products and receive timely responses online from our well-trained tour advisors and customer service representatives, which facilitates their travel planning, product selection, reservations and payments. Our user-friendly interface enables users to quickly and easily evaluate and compare a wide array of travel products. Customers can also raise complaints about our travel products and services through the online-messaging function on our website.

We encourage our customers to share photos, stories and other travel-related information on our website. We have built a large and fast-growing collection of customer reviews and travel stories which we believe are attractive and useful to our current and prospective customers. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had more than 2,000,0003.4 million customer reviews and over 30,00044,000 travel stories and destination guides on our website. The Travelogue forum on our website, which is organized based on destinations, provides our customers with an easy and intuitive way to access various topics of interest. Registered members can share their travel experiences and interact with other members by posting questions and receiving answers from fellow forum members. We have a comprehensive collection of descriptions and photos of different destinations. Our website also provides other useful travel-related information, such as weather forecasts, exchange rates, train schedules and subway maps to further enhance user experience.

A transaction on our website generally involves the following steps:

Browse. A customer typically enters one of our over 150290 city webpages by selecting his location or departing city. The customer can easily browse our product selection by travel destination. In order to allow customers to locate the products they are interested in, our website also arranges our travel product offerings into different categories, such as organized tours, self-guided tours, corporate tours, cruises, tickets for tourist attractions, self-drive tours and visa applications. The customer can also choose to browse through our best-sellers for each of local tours, domestic tours, overseas tours, self-guided tours and tickets for tourist attractions.

Search and Select. A customer conducts a search for a particular product on our website by defining desired parameters, such as destinations, departing cities, departure time, product types, tour duration, number of travelers, prices and itineraries. We provide the customer with information regarding each travel product in detail together with photographs of the destinations and hotels as well as customer reviews and ratings. Our website displays various possible selections and provides additional information about the products. The customer can sort, refine or rank search results by further defining certain search parameters such as price range, customer ratings, popularity and keywords. Our online Q&A feature enables the customer to raise inquiries and receive timely responses to facilitate their research. In addition, the comparison tool on our website displays details of different travel products side-by-side, enabling the customer to evaluate different travel products easily.

Order Placement. After a customer has selected a particular option, our website will provide the customer with an opportunity to review details of the travel products and services being purchased and the terms and conditions of such purchase. The customer can also request assistance and professional advice from our tour advisors who will promptly follow up and interact with the customer online or by phone.

Contract Confirmation. At this stage, a customer is required to confirm that he agrees to the terms and conditions of his purchase. The customer can submit his confirmation online or sign the contract related to his purchase in one of our regional service centers or send us the signed contract. Contracts are entered between us and the customer directly.

Payment. After confirming the terms of a contract, a customer will be directed to the payment webpage. We offer our customers the flexibility to choose a number of payment options, which include bank transfers, credit cards, debit cards and online payment through third-party online payment platforms. In addition, the customer can pay at one of our regional service centers. If available, the customer can also discount the purchase price of our travel products by using our coupons and travel vouchers. Electronic confirmations are sent to the customer’s e-mail address or mobile phone and the customer can use the itinerary management function on our website to check his booking details as well as amend or cancel his bookings.

Review. After completing theirhis or her trips, a customer is provided with incentives such as coupons to return to our website to write reviews and travel stories and share his or her experience on our Travelogue forum. This increases transparency regarding our travel product quality and increases customer stickiness. We regard customer reviews and travel stories, which provide valuable information to potential customers, as important criteria in assessing the quality and performance of our travel suppliers and travel products.

We offer customized services via a sophisticated account management system accessible on our online platform. After logging on with a unique identification, a customer can track order status, manage itineraries and check membership points, coupons and travel vouchers.

Our Mobile Platform

Our Android- and Apple iOS-based mobile applications, such asTuniu Travel, and the mobile version of our website,m.tuniu.com, allow customers to search for travel products and services and place orders on mobile devices. Our mobile platform also enables customers to track their order status and provides other location-based services to allow users to quickly locate a variety of nearby scenic spots.

ThroughTuniu Travel, our customers can search for travel products and services and complete a booking within minutes.Tuniu Travel also serves as an important and integral part of customers’ research on travel-related information. Customers often use our in-house developed and user-generated travel guides and other user generated content, such as customer reviews, travel stories, tips and recommendations, on ourTuniu Travel to plan their travels. In addition, we offer discounted travel products that are exclusive to users ofTuniu Travel for limited periods to enhance our mobile user engagement and increase monetization.

Our Customer Services

When selecting a travel company or platform, leisure travelers often look beyond factors such as prices and selection and focus on enjoyable experiences, in which our customer services play a crucial part. We believe that the quality customer services provided by our well-trained tour advisors and customer service representatives gravitate our customers towards our online platform.

Offline nationwide service network. Our primary call center is located in our headquartersheadquarter in Nanjing, with over 350 customer service representatives as of December 31, 2015. In addition,and we have a regional call center in Guangzhou dedicated to serving Cantonese-speaking clients, designed to better serve the heightened demand in the region for leisure travel. Our call centers provide 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week customer services before, during and after travels, from answering customers’ initial inquiries on their travel-related needs to assisting them in making and amending their travel bookings. For inquiries on detailed product information and itinerary management, our customer service representatives allocate them according to destinations to our in-house tour advisors, who follow up with our customers within half an hour to address their concerns and needs. We have implemented comprehensive performance measures to monitor our calls to ensure our customers receive quality services. In October 2013 and 2015, we obtained the Best Call Center Award in the CCM Awards that was jointly organized by CCMWorldCCM World Group and CC-CMM Organization, and in October 2014 and in 2015, we receivedwere rewarded the Golden Tone Award from 51CallCenter for three consecutive years in October of 2014, 2015 and 2016, a call center and business process outsourcing industry group, for offering outstanding call center and customer service experiences. In addition, as of December 31, 2015, we had 160 regional service centers located across 154 cities in China to handle inquiries from customers as well as process visa applications and payments.

Tour Advisors. As of December 31, 2015, we had over 1,400 tourTour advisors who are well-trained through in-house training workshops as well as training sessions provided by our travel suppliers to closely assist our customers throughout their travel planning and booking process from pre-sale consultation to final order confirmation. Our tour advisors are equipped with product expertise to guide customers through the details of available packaged tours on our online platform and provide insightful advice on customers’ desired travel destinations. Our tour advisors provide professional guidance on product selection, price, travel requirements and payment to ensure an efficient and informed shopping experience.

To create a better travel experience for our customers, we are committed to sharing part of their losses due to certain unexpected events. For example, if our customers cannot travel due to death, pregnancy, serious injury, hospitalization or rejection of visa applications after entering into contracts with us, we will provide them with travel vouchers equivalent to a portion of the amounts paid which are redeemable towards the purchase of our travel products at a later time.

Supply Chain Management

As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had over 11,00016,000 travel suppliers, which primarily include tour operators, travel services providers and wholesalers of travel products and services in China. We believe that our ability to enable our travel suppliers to extend their reach to potentially millions of Internet users in China and fulfill their needs for inventory management, attracts new quality travel suppliers and builds stronger ties with our existing travel suppliers. As of December 31, 2015, we hadWe have a product procurement team of over 1,250 staffwho is dedicated to developing and enhancing our relationships with existing and prospective travel suppliers. In the fourth quarter of 2015, our direct procurement products, which continue to gain traction with our customers, reached over 30% of our total gross merchandise value.

We source a broad range of products from travel suppliers who have significant advantages in the destinations we cover and who offer travel products at competitive prices, which enhances our ability to attract more customers to our online platform. Our growing customer base in turn attracts more travel suppliers, creating a virtuous cycle that strengthens our leading market position.

We generally enter into contracts with our travel suppliers based on our standard form. Our travel suppliers often pay us rebates based on our business volume. In addition, some of our travel suppliers require prepayments for reserving tour availabilities. Typically, we settle payment with our travel suppliers on a monthly basis, although our travel suppliers can also request for an early settlement on a discounted basis. To date, substantially all of our travel suppliers have sought to pursue continuing cooperation opportunities with us. In order to support and retain suppliers, in November 2014, we entered into framework cooperation agreements with four PRC-based banks under which the banks intend to make available loan facilities to us or our suppliers. See “—Financial Services” and “Item 5.B. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

We conduct a rigorous process in qualifying travel suppliers and in selecting their travel products and services. In qualifying a potential travel supplier, we focus on its reputation, product quality, track record, credibility and price competitiveness.

In addition, our travel suppliers can participate in biddings for priority listings, prominent placements for biddings and advertising displays on our website for the travel products they supply.

Product Selection

We adopt an open-source procurement strategy to source quality travel products in the destinations we cover. Our product procurement team works closely with our travel suppliers to ensure that customers are provided with high-quality travel products. In addition, we conduct regular price comparisons for our travel products to assess the competitiveness of our pricing.

Supply Management

We host one major procurement event each year and present our major travel suppliers with our estimated volume demand. We also constantly communicate with our travel suppliers, mainly through our product procurement team and our proprietary N-Booking system, to keep them informed of any changes to the supply outlook so that they can respond to customer demand in a timely manner. This helps us and our travel suppliers make timely adjustments to procurement plans.

Supplier Quality Control

We have developed product and service provision protocols for travel suppliers to follow. Given that we have recently undergone an extensive regional expansion, with 160 regional service centers throughout China, as of December 31, 2015, we are ablewhich help us to closely track the performance of travel suppliers in each locale through our service centers. We have a dedicated team in charge of monitoring travel suppliers based on customer feedback; which also provides recommendations for travel suppliers to improve their service quality and the products they supply. We impose penalties on our travel suppliers or cease selling their travel products if their products fail to meet our quality standards or if we receive valid complaints from our customers. We also prepare regular assessment reports on our travel suppliers based on the popularity, quality and price competitiveness of their travel products. To monitor and further improve the quality of our travel suppliers and the products and services we offer, we proactively collect feedback from our customers after their travels.

N-Booking System

We have developed a proprietary N-Booking system, accessible via web and mobile, that offers our travel suppliers the following features:

Product Management. Travel suppliers can submit details of their travel products via an easy-to-navigate online interface. After our review and approval, we will post the details provided by the travel suppliers and the prices determined by us on our online platform. In addition, our N-Booking system provides travel suppliers with an option to use descriptions and photos of destinations and tourist attractions in our database.

Just-In-Time Management. Our N-Booking system provides travel suppliers with access to real-time inventory data and gives them a wide range of inventory management tools. Our N-Booking system also notifies travel suppliers of any changes in the inventory level of the travel products we source from them, which enables them to timely adjust their procurement and sales plans. As such, we are able to deliver real-time information on product availability and provide our customers with prompt booking and order confirmations.

Account Management. Our travel suppliers can review transaction history details on our N-Booking system. They can also submit requests for early settlement of their account balance with us on a discount basis.

Data Analysis. Supported by our big data platform, travel suppliers can analyze and understand user behavior based on their browsing history. Travel suppliers can keep track of traffic brought to the travel products supplied by them on our online platform and are able to evaluate the competitiveness of different travel products. We believe the user information gathered from our online platform reflects current leisure travel market trends in China and provides excellent market insights to our travel suppliers for their procurement planning and product design. By leveraging our data mining and analytics capabilities, travel suppliers are able to develop a more in-depth understanding of customers’ behaviors and preferences, potentially unlocking significant value.

Financial Services

We currently offer a range of financial services, which complement our core leisure travel business, to both our customers and suppliers. Our financial services are designed to systematically support the overall development of the leisure travel market in China by funding customers’ travels and supporting suppliers’ growth. For our customers, we provide travel financing products enabling customers to travel with an initial down payment, which has been particularly popular among the young generation of travelers who are more price-sensitive. In addition, we also offer yield enhancement products and insurance products to our customers. For our suppliers, we provide various types of loans that optimize working capital for our selected suppliers, allowing them to provide high-quality travel products on a larger scale.

Technology

We have built our technology infrastructure with high levels of performance, reliability, scalability and security to ensure superior customer and supplier experiences. We rely on internally developed proprietary technologies and licensed technologies to manage and improve our website, mobile platform and management systems. As of December 31, 2015, we hadWe have a team of over 1,000 engineers dedicated to research and development in the areas of website operations, mobile platform, search engine, data analytics and supply chain management system.

We believe that an advanced technology platform is vital to our growth and success. In 2012, we obtained ISO 9001:2008 certification for our quality management system and ISO 27001:2005 certification for our information security management system in the design, development and maintenance of our online platform, indicating our compliance with internationally recognized standards for quality control.

Product Search

We strive to present relevant and useful search results in a timely fashion to ensure the accuracy, efficiency and synchronism of our search results. Despite the difficulties in analyzing leisure travel products data, we have developed search technologies that allow us to retrieve, index, filter and rank real-time product information. We are able to prioritize the search results and display information most suited to our customers’ requirements in a simple and intuitive interface in real-time. Our core search technologies include the following:

Real-time Indexing. Our search infrastructure enables changes in product data to be indexed, processed and reflected in search results on a real-time basis.

Smart Caching. We maintain a database with massive product information on packaged tours, hotels, flights and other travel-related services. We have designed an auto-prioritizing method to update the database by ranking popular products based on different criteria, such as popular cities, most-visited attractions, top-rated products and most-viewed products. Different refreshing frequencies are applied to different products.

Accuracy Checking. Our accuracy checking software complements our smart caching system and is implemented to display the latest product information such as prices and product descriptions. When a user clicks on the interested search result, an accuracy checker is triggered to retrieve the updated product information and present it to the user.

Fuzzy Query Processing. We maintain a dictionary for travel-related keywords in Chinese, where keywords are classified and linked to each other based on their meanings. We have also developed a query search algorithm based on user inputs to enhance our ability to dissect natural language queries. Such technologies help us better understand the meanings of queries and to produce the most relevant and useful search results. We also provide additional search features such as query spelling correction, query suggestion and search by Chinese phonetics (Pinyin).

Big Data Analysis

We gather and analyze customer behavior and data for our procurement, inventory management and marketing purposes. We also provide selected data to our travel suppliers, enabling them to optimize their product designs and marketing strategies.

Big Data Platform. We have developed our big data platform based on a distributed computing system. Such data analytics capabilities help us to gain a deeper understanding of existing and prospective customers and market trends, make customized recommendations to customers and improve our applications and products accordingly.

Streaming Data Analysis. We have also built a streaming data processing pipeline based on our big data platform to view the browsing history of the users of our online platform and to allow our travel suppliers to review their performance data near real-time.

Web Content Mining. Our web content processing system links user generated content which includes customer reviews, travel stories and tips as well as destination guides such as locations, hotels and tourist attractions. This allows users of our online platform to obtain information of different destinations and travel products and services in a user-friendly manner.

N-Booking System

Our N-Booking system streamlines the interactions between us and our travel suppliers. Our N-Booking system also allows our travel suppliers to receive booking information real-time through the web or mobile devices to more efficiently manage travel products and better understand customer preferences. See “—Supply Chain Management—N-Booking System.”

CRM System

Through a customer relationship management system, or CRM system, we gather, analyze and make use of internally-generated customer behavior and transaction data based on customers’ historical purchase and browsing records. We regularly use this information in budgeting and procurement planning as well as in planning our marketing initiatives and promotional campaigns.

Data Security

Our system servers are housed in Nanjing and Beijing, and have secure and dedicated communication links among them. All data are backed up on an hourly basis. Our system servers utilize digital certificates to help us conduct secure communications and transactions. The performance of our system servers is monitored and maintained by an internal team that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customer sensitive information, such as password and payment information, is stored with encryption, and our data servers are secured with firewalls.

Dynamic Packaging System

We have leveraged our data analytics capabilities to develop a dynamic packaging system that enables our users to customize their own travel packages tailored to individual travelers’ needs. This system is able to combine trip components from different suppliers to provide truly customized trips, automating and placing in the hands of our customers a function that was previously performed manually. It uses algorithms and past customer data to filter out unnatural choices and provide customers with relevant choices based on their ascertainable behavior. We believe this is one of the first systems of its type in China.

Seasonality

Our business experiences fluctuations, reflecting seasonal variations in demand for leisure travel services. Sales of leisure travel products and services will increase in respect of holiday periods and decrease in respect of off-peak times, while prices of leisure travel products and services are subject to fluctuation between peak seasons and low seasons. For example, the third quarter of each year generally contributes the highest percentage of our annual revenues, because many of our customers tend to travel during summer holidays in July and August.

Marketing and Brand Building

We have been making continuing efforts in building and maintaining a strong Tuniu brand through both traditional offline marketing media and online marketing channels. We conduct offline advertising primarily via television and outdoor advertisements. For our television marketing, we place a number of commercials on various television channels across China, and we also sponsor a few of the most popular television programs in China to strengthen our brand awareness. Our outdoor marketing includes advertisements on buses and subways. In addition, we also organize targeted campaigns, make promotional and seasonal offers and cooperate with domestic and foreign tourism boards and bureaus in holding promotional events and marketing campaigns.

While our offline advertising plays an important role in promoting our brand image, we complement our branding campaigns through mobile and online channels. We promote our mobile app through advertisements in the mobile app store and various display advertisements. We have also entered into agreements with a number of search engines, pursuant to which we have purchased travel-related keywords or directory links that direct users to our website. In addition, we have a strong presence in online social media such as Tencent’s WeChat and Sina’s Weibo. We believe that our presence in online social media helps us maintain engagement with our targeted customers. In May 2015, in connection with the investment that JD.com, Inc. made in our company, we entered into a business cooperation agreement with JD.com, Inc., under which we gain the exclusive rights to operate, for five years without paying any fees, the leisure travel channel on both JD.com, Inc.’s website and mobile application, and become JD.com, Inc.’s preferred partner for hotel and air tickets booking services. The business cooperation with JD.com, Inc. has contributed to the increased traffic on our website since its implementation.

As part of our cross-marketing effort, we have agreements with financial institutions to recommend our products and services to their debit or credit card holders, and we allow these cardholders to settle their payments for travel products purchased from us using these cards with discounts. For instance, we cooperated with Bank of Jiangsu, China Construction Bank and China CMC bankCitic Bank and launched co-branded credit cards, through which cardholders may book with us and are entitled to discounts, bonus points and certain other privileges.

Furthermore, our customer reward program allows our customers to accumulate membership points and coupons as they purchase travel products and services. Our membership points have a fixed validity term and, before expiry, customers may redeem these points for future purchases. Our customer reward program is designed to encourage repeat purchases. Currently, our membership has fiveseven levels. For customers who meet certain spending thresholds, we upgrade their membership status to the next level, entitling them to further discounts and more points for their spending. For customers who have achieved the top two levelsmembership status of membership status,level three and above, we provide them with designated customer service representatives to handle their travel needs.

Competition

We compete primarily with all other types of online travel companies. In addition, we compete with traditional travel service providers and tour operators. In our self-guided tour business, as we sell packaged tours which include flights and hotels, we also compete with airlines and hotels, which in recent years have made efforts to improve their direct sales. Large, established Internet search engines have also launched applications offering travel products in various destinations around the world. Factors affecting our competitiveness include, among other things, price, availability and breadth of choice of travel products and services, brand recognition, customer services, and ease of use, accessibility, security and reliability of our transaction and service infrastructure.

Some of our current and potential competitors may have greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do. In addition, some of our competitors may be acquired by, receive investment from or enter into strategic relationships with larger, well-established and well-financed companies or investors. They may be able to devote greater resources to marketing and promotional campaigns and devote substantially more resources to website and system development than us. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We face intense competition and may not be able to compete successfully against existing and new competitors.”

Intellectual Property

Our success and ability to compete depend, in part, upon our ability to establish and adequately protect our intellectual property rights. In this regard, we rely primarily on a combination of copyright, software registration, trademark, trade secret and unfair competition laws and contractual rights, such as confidentiality agreements with our employees and others. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had 3441 registered computer software copyrights, one4 registered patent and 1117 registered artwork copyrights in China, and were in the process of applying for 1229 patents in China. In addition, as of December 31, 2015,2016, we had 10081 registered domain names that were material to our business, includingtuniu.com, and 139282 registered trademarks, including途牛(the 途牛 (the Chinese characters of Tuniu), and, in China.

Insurance

We maintain various insurance policies to safeguard against risks and unexpected events. We have purchased travel companies’ liability insurance covering expenses related to accidents caused by us. We have also maintained property insurance policies for our fixed assets covering losses due to fire, explosion, lightning, storm, landslide, subsidence and aircraft damage.

PRC Regulation

This section sets forth a summary of the significant regulations or requirements that affect our business activities in China or our shareholders’ rights to receive dividends and other distributions from us.

Regulations on Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The PRC government extensively regulates the telecommunications industry, including the Internet sector. The PRC State Council, the MIIT, the Ministry of Commerce,MOC, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, or the SAIC, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (formerly the General Administration of Press and Publication) and other relevant government authorities have promulgated an extensive regulatory scheme governing telecommunications, Internet-related services and e-commerce. However, since China’s telecommunications industry and Internet-related industry are at an early stage of development, new laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time that will require us to obtain additional licenses and permits in addition to those that we currently have, and will require us to address new issues that arise from time to time. As a result, substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of current and any future Chinese laws and regulations applicable to the telecommunications, Internet-related services and e-commerce. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could limit the legal protections available to you and us.”

Licenses for Value-Added Telecommunication Services

The Telecommunications Regulations issued by the PRC State Council in September 2000 are the primary regulations governing telecommunication services. The Telecommunications Regulations set out the general framework for the provision of telecommunication services by PRC companies. Under the Telecommunications Regulations, it is a requirement that telecommunications service providers procure operating licenses prior to commencement of their operations. The Telecommunications Regulations draw a distinction between “basic telecommunications services” and “value-added telecommunications services.” Internet content provision services, or ICP services, is a subcategory of value-added telecommunications services.

Pursuant to the Administrative Measures for Telecommunications Business Operating Permit promulgated by the MIIT in March 2009, as amended in December 2011, there are two types of telecommunication operating license for operators in China, namely, licenses for basic telecommunications services and licenses for value-added telecommunications services. The operation scope of the license will specify the permitted activities of the enterprise to which it is granted. An approved telecommunication services operator must conduct its business in accordance with such specifications.

Pursuant to the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services, promulgated by the PRC State Council in September 2000, as amended in January 2011, commercial Internet information services operators must obtain an ICP license, from the relevant government authorities before engaging in any commercial Internet information services operations within the PRC. Nanjing Tuniu, our consolidated affiliated entity, obtained ICP licenses issued by the Jiangsu Administration of Telecommunication which will expire in March 2019.

The Internet Electronic Bulletin Service Administrative Measures promulgated by the MIIT in November 2000 require Internet information services operators to obtain specific approvals before providing BBS services, which include electronic bulletin boards, electronic forums, message boards and chat rooms. In July 2010,September 2014, the requirementInternet Electronic Bulletin Service Administrative Measures was repealed by Repealing and Revising Certain Rules of BBS approval was terminated by a decision issued by the PRC State Council.MIIT. However, in practice, the relevant authorities still require obtaining such approval for the operation of BBS services. We have applied to the Jiangsu Administration of Telecommunication for and have obtained an approval for the operation of BBS services on our website.

Foreign Investment in Value-Added Telecommunications Services

The Catalog for the Guidance of Foreign Investment Industries, or the Catalog, as promulgated and amended from time to time by the Ministry of CommerceMOC and the National Development and Reform Commission, is the principal guide to foreign investors’ investment activities in the PRC. The most updated version of the Catalog, which was promulgated in 2015, divides the industries into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. Industries not listed in the Catalog are generally open to foreign investment unless specifically restricted by other PRC laws and regulations. A wholly foreign-owned enterprise is generally permitted for encouraged industries, while for restricted industries, such as value-added telecommunications service industry, there are some limitations to the ownership and/or corporate structure of the foreign-invested companies that operate in such industries. Industries in the prohibited category are not open to foreign investors.

Pursuant to the Provisions on Administration of Foreign-Invested Telecommunications Enterprises, promulgated by the PRC State Council in December 2001 and amended in September 2008,February 2016, the ultimate foreign equity ownership in a value-added telecommunications services provider may not exceed 50%. Moreover, for a foreign investor to acquire any equity interest in a value-added telecommunication business in China, it must satisfy a number of stringent performance and operational experience requirements, including demonstrating good track records and experience in operating value-added telecommunication business overseas. Foreign investors that meet these requirements must obtain approvals from the MIIT and the Ministry of CommerceMOC or their authorized local counterparts, which retain considerable discretion in granting approvals. Pursuant to publicly available information, the PRC government has issued telecommunications business operating licenses to only a limited number of foreign-invested companies, all of which are Sino-foreign joint ventures engaging in the value-added telecommunication business.

The MIIT Circular issued in July 2006 reiterated the regulations on foreign investment in telecommunications businesses, which require foreign investors to set up foreign-invested enterprises and obtain a business operating license for Internet content provision to conduct any value-added telecommunications business in China. Pursuant to the MIIT Circular, a domestic company that holds an ICP license is prohibited from leasing, transferring or selling the license to foreign investors in any form, and from providing any assistance, including providing resources, sites or facilities, to foreign investors that conduct value-added telecommunications business illegally in China. Furthermore, the relevant trademarks and domain names that are used in the value-added telecommunications business must be owned by the domestic ICP license holder or its shareholders. The MIIT Circular further requires each ICP license holder to have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. In addition, all value-added telecommunications service providers are required to maintain network and information security in accordance with the standards set forth under relevant PRC regulations.

In light of the aforesaid restrictions, we rely on Nanjing Tuniu, our consolidated affiliated entity, to hold and maintain the licenses necessary to provide online marketing services and other value-added telecommunications services in China. For a detailed discussion of our contractual arrangements, please refer to “—C. Organizational Structure.” To comply with these PRC regulations, we operate our website and value-added telecommunications services through Nanjing Tuniu. Nanjing Tuniu holds our ICP licenses and owns all domain names used in our value-added telecommunications businesses. Nanjing Tuniu is also the owner of all registered trademarks used in our value-added telecommunications businesses and is the applicant of all registered trademark applications we are currently making.

Regulations on Information Security and Censorship

The PRC government regulates and restricts Internet content in China to protect state security and ensure the legality of the Internet content. The National People’s Congress, China’s national legislative body, enacted a Decision on the Safeguarding of Internet Security in December 2000, as subsequently amended in August 2009, among other things, makes it unlawful to: (1) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (2) disseminate politically disruptive information; (3) leak state secrets; (4) spread false commercial information; or (5) infringe intellectual property rights. Pursuant to the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services and other applicable laws, Internet content providers and Internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the Internet content which violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is reactionary, obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Internet service providers are required to monitor their websites, including electronic bulletin boards. They may not post or disseminate any content that falls within these prohibited categories and must remove any such content from their websites. The PRC government may shut down the websites of ICP license holders that violate any of the above-mentioned content restrictions and revoke their ICP licenses. In addition, the MIIT has published regulations that subject ICP operators to potential liability for content displayed on their websites and the actions of users and others using their systems, including liability for violations of PRC laws and regulations prohibiting the dissemination of content deemed to be socially destabilizing. The Ministry of Public Security has the authority to order any local Internet service provider to block any Internet website at its sole discretion. From time to time, the Ministry of Public Security has stopped the dissemination over the Internet of information which it believes to be socially destabilizing.

The Ministry of Public Security has promulgated the Administrative Measures for the Security Protection of International Connections to Computer Information Network in December 1997, as amended in January 2011, that prohibit the use of the Internet in ways which, among other things, result in a leakage of State secrets or the distribution of socially destabilizing content. Socially destabilizing content includes any content that incites defiance or violations of PRC laws or regulations or subversion of the PRC government or its political system, spreads socially disruptive rumors or involves cult activities, superstition, obscenities, pornography, gambling or violence. Under PRC law, state secrets are defined broadly to include information concerning PRC national defense, state affairs and other matters as determined by the PRC authorities.

In December 2005, the Ministry of Public Security promulgated Provisions on Technological Measures for Internet Security Protection. These measures and the Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services require all ICP operators to keep records of certain information about their users (including user registration information, log-in and log-out time, IP address, content and time of listings by users) for at least 60 days and submit the above information as required by laws and regulations. The ICP operators must regularly update information security and censorship systems for their websites with local public security authorities, and must also report any public dissemination of prohibited content. If an ICP operator violates these measures, the PRC government may revoke its ICP license and shut down its websites. Pursuant to the Decision on Strengthening Network Information Protection issued by the Standing Committee of the PRC National People’s Congress in December 2012, ICP operators must request identity information from users when ICP operators provide information publication services to the users. If ICP operators come across prohibited information, they must immediately cease the transmission of such information, delete the information, keep relevant records, and report to relevant government authorities. In July 2013, the MIIT promulgated the Regulation on Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunications and Internet Users to provide for more detailed rules in this respect.

In addition, the State Secrecy Bureau has issued provisions authorizing the blocking access to any website it deems to be leaking state secrets or failing to comply with the relevant legislation regarding the protection of state secrets.

As Nanjing Tuniu is an ICP operator, it is subject to the laws and regulations relating to information security. To comply with these laws and regulations, it has completed the mandatory security filing procedures with the local public security authorities, regularly update their information security and content-filtering systems with newly issued content restrictions, and maintains records of users’ information as required by the relevant laws and regulations. Nanjing Tuniu has also taken measures to delete or remove links to content that to its knowledge contains information violating PRC laws and regulations. Majority of the content posted on our online platform is first screened by our filtering systems. Content containing prohibited words or images is then manually screened by employees who are dedicated to screening and monitoring content published on our platform and removing prohibited content. We believe that with these measures in place, no prohibited content under PRC information security laws and regulations should have been publicly disseminated through our online platform in the past. However, there is significant amount of content posted on our online platform by our users on a daily basis. If any prohibited content is publicly disseminated in the future and we become aware of it, we will report it to the relevant government authority. We believe these measures taken by us are generally in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.

If, despite the precautions, we fail to identify and prevent illegal or inappropriate content from being displayed on or through our online platform, we may be subject to liability. In addition, these laws and regulations are subject to interpretation by the relevant authorities, and it may not be possible for us to determine in all cases the types of content that could result in liability. To the extent that PRC regulatory authorities find any content displayed on or through our online platform objectionable, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination or availability of such content or impose penalties, including the revocation of our operating licenses or the suspension or shutdown of our online operations. In addition, the costs of compliance with these regulations may increase as the volume of content and the number of users on our online platform increases.

Regulations on Internet Privacy

The PRC Constitution states that PRC law protects the freedom and privacy of communications of citizens and prohibits infringement of these rights. In recent years, PRC government authorities have promulgated laws and regulations on Internet use to protect personal information from any unauthorized disclosure. The Decision on Strengthening Network Information Protection and the Regulation on Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunication and Internet Users provide that information that identifies a citizen, the time or location for his use of telecommunication and Internet services, or involves privacy of any citizen such as his birth date, ID card number, and address is protected by law and must not be unlawfully collected or provided to others. ICP operators collecting or using personal electronic information of citizens must specify the purposes, manners and scopes of information collection and uses, obtain consent of the relevant citizens, and keep the collected personal information confidential. ICP operators are prohibited from disclosing, tampering with, damaging, selling or illegally providing others with, collected personal information. ICP operators are also prohibited from collection and use of personal information after a user has stopped using the services. ICP operators are required to take technical and other measures to prevent the collected personal information from any unauthorized disclosure, damage or loss as well as conducting a self-examination of their protection of personal information at least once a year. The Administrative Measures on Internet Information Services prohibit an ICP operator from insulting or slandering a third party or infringing upon the lawful rights and interests of a third party. Pursuant to the Internet Electronic Bulletin Service Administrative Measures, ICP operators that provide electronic messaging services must keep users’ personal information confidential and must not disclose the personal information to any third party without the users’ consent or unless required by law. The relevant telecommunications authorities are further authorized to order ICP operators to rectify unauthorized disclosure. ICP operators are subject to legal liability, including warnings, fines, confiscation of illegal gains, revocation of licenses or filings, closing of the relevant websites, administrative punishment, criminal liabilities, or civil liabilities, if they violate relevant provisions on Internet privacy. Such requirements are reiterated by the Regulation on Protection of Personal Information of Telecommunications and Internet Users. If an ICP operator appoints an agent to undertake any marketing and technical services that involve the collection or use of personal information, the ICP operator is required to supervise and manage the protection of such information. Any violation may subject the ICP operators to warnings, fines, disclosure to the public and, in the most severe cases, criminal liability. The PRC government, however, has the power and authority to order ICP operators to turn over personal information if an Internet user posts any prohibited content or engages in illegal activities on the Internet.

Regulations on Air-ticketing

Air-ticketing business is subject to the supervision of the China Aviation Transportation Association, or CATA, and its regional branches. Currently the principal regulation governing air-ticketing agencies in China is the Rules on Certification of Qualification for Civil Aviation Transport Sales Agencies, or the Air Ticketing Rules, issued by the CATA, which became effective on March 31, 2006. Under the Air Ticketing Rules and relevant foreign investment regulations, any company acting as an air-ticketing sale agency must obtain approval from the CATA, and a foreign investor currently cannot own 100% of an air-ticketing agency in China, except for qualified Hong Kong and Macau aviation marketing agencies. In addition, foreign-invested air-ticketing agencies are not permitted to sell passenger airline tickets for domestic flights in China, except for Hong Kong and Macau aviation marketing agencies. In addition, CATA issued the Supplementary Rules Regarding Sales via the Internet in 2008. These Supplementary Rules provide that, effective as of June 1, 2008, if an air-ticketing sales agency would like to engage in sales via the Internet, it must obtain an ICP license from the local counterpart of the MIIT and must complete a commercial website registration with the local counterpart of the SAIC. Although we request that our travel suppliers provide their licenses or permits to us before entering into agreements with them, we cannot ensure that all of our travel suppliers engaged in the air ticketing sales agency service obtained, and maintained, all necessary permits. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may not continue using our online platform.”

Regulations on Hotel Operation

In November 1987, the Ministry of Public Security issued the Measures for the Control of Security in the Hotel Industry, which has been amended in January 2011, and in June 2004, the PRC State Council promulgated the Decision of the PRC State Council on Establishing Administrative License for the Administrative Examination and Approval Items Really Necessary To Be Retained. Under these two regulations, anyone who applies to operate a hotel is subject to examination and approval by the local public security authority and must obtain a special industry license. The Measures for the Control of Security in the Hotel Industry impose certain security control obligations on the operators. For example, the hotel must examine the identification card of any guest to whom accommodation is provided and make an accurate registration. The hotel must also report to the local public security authority if it discovers anyone violating the law or behaving suspiciously, or an offender wanted by the public security authority.

In April 1987, the PRC State Council promulgated the Public Area Hygiene Administration Regulation, which requireshas been amended in February 2016, requiring hotels to obtain a public area hygiene license before opening for business. In March 2011, the Ministry of Health promulgated the Implementation Rules of the Public Area Hygiene Administration Regulation, which require,has been amended in February 2016, requiring, starting from May 1, 2011, hotel operators to establish hygiene administration system and keep records of hygiene administration. In February 2009, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, or the SCNPC, enacted the PRC Law on Food Safety, which requireshas been amended in February 2016, requiring any hotel that provides food to obtain a food service license.

The Fire Prevention Law, as amended by the SCNPC in October 2008, and the Provisions on Supervision and Inspection on Fire Prevention and Control, promulgatedas amended by the Ministry of Public Security and effective as of May 1, 2009,in July 2012, require that public gathering places such as hotels submit a fire prevention design plan in order to apply for completion acceptance of fire prevention facilities for their construction projects and to pass a fire prevention safety inspection by the local public security fire department, which is a prerequisite for opening business.

In January 2006, the PRC State Council promulgated the Regulations for Administration of Entertainment Places.Places which has been amended in February 2016. In March 2006, the Ministry of Culture issued the Circular on Carrying Out the Regulations for Administration of Entertainment Places. Under these regulations, hotels that provide entertainment facilities, such as discos or ballrooms, are required to obtain a license for entertainment business operations.

We cannot ensure that all of the hotels that we offer to our customers have obtained, and maintained, all necessary permits and licenses. See “Item 3. D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may not continue using our online platform.”

Regulations on Travel Companies

The travel industry is subject to the supervision of the China National Tourism Administration, or CNTA, and local tourism administrations. The principal regulations governing travel companies in China include: (i) the Regulation on Travel Companies, or the Travel Company Regulations, issued by the PRC State Council in February 2009, which became effective as of May 1, 2009, and amended in February 2016 and July 2016, which replaced the Administration of Travel Companies Regulations (1996), (ii) the Implementation Rules for the Regulation on Travel Companies (the “Travel Company Implementation Rules”), promulgated by the CNTA in April 2009 which became effective as of May 3, 2009,and amended in December 2016, and (iii) the Tourism Law issued by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on April 25, 2013, which became effective as of October 1, 2013.and amended in November 2016. Under these regulations, a travel company must obtain a license from the CNTA to conduct cross-border travel business and a license from the provincial-level tourism administration to conduct domestic travel company business.

The Travel Company Regulations permit foreign investors to establish wholly foreign-owned travel companies, as well as joint ventures and cooperative travel companies. Foreign-owned travel companies are allowed to open branches nationwide, but are restricted from engaging in overseas travel business in China, unless otherwise determined by the PRC State Council, or provided under a bilateral free trade agreement between the country and China, or the closer economic partnership agreements between China, Hong Kong and Macau. On July 1, 2016, the State Council issued the Decision of the State Council on Temporally Adjusting Relevant Provisions of Administrative Regulations, Documents of the State Council and Departmental Rules approved by the State Council in the Pilot Free Trade Zones, or Decision 41, pursuant to which qualified foreign-invested travel companies, registered in the Pilot Free Trade Zones of Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian, may engage in overseas travel business, excepted in Taiwan area. The Travel Company Implementation Rules define certain terms used in the Travel Company Regulations, for example, the definition of “domestic tourism business,” “inbound travel business” and “overseas travel business”, and set out detailed application requirements to establish a travel company. The Travel Company Implementation Rules also clarify certain aspects of legal liability for travel companies as prescribed in the Travel Company Regulations.

Pursuant to the Tourism Law, travel companies are prohibited from arranging for compulsory shopping or other activities which charge additional fees on top of the contract prices that tourists have already paid, unless it is agreed upon by both parties through consultation or requested by the tourists and does not affect the itinerary of other tourists. Travel companies are required to pay quality deposits for compensation for damage to tourists’ rights and advance payment of expenses for emergency assistance when the tourists’ personal safety is in danger. Travel companies are required to engage tour guides, who are required to strictly follow the itineraries and are prohibited from altering arrangement without the consent of customers, suspending to provide services, requesting tips from tourists, and arranging for compulsory shopping or other activities which charge additional fees on top of the contract prices that tourists have already paid by way of induction, deception, coercion or in other illegal forms. The information that travel companies release to attract or organize tourists is required to be authentic and accurate, and no false publicity can be made to mislead tourists. In addition, travel companies conducting business via the Internet are required to present information of their travel company licenses on their websites, and ensure the truthfulness and accuracy of the travel-related information they release on their websites. Generally, travel companies soliciting tourists are required to take primary liabilities for any breach of travel contracts, including personal injury or property loss suffered by the tourists attributable to travel service providers and tour operators at destinations and their suppliers.

In 2010, CNTA released the Measures for Dealing with Tourism Complaints, which took effect as of July 1, 2010. Under these Measures, authorities which are responsible for dealing with tourist complaints are required to render a decision on the complaints within 60 days after the date of receipt thereof.

Although we take measures, such as requesting travel suppliers to provide their relevant permits and/or licenses, we cannot make sure that all of our travel suppliers maintained all necessary permits. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may not continue using our online platform.”

In November 2010, CNTA and China Insurance Regulatory Commission jointly promulgated the Measures for the Administration of the Liability Insurance of Travel Companies, or the Liability Insurance Measures, which became effective as of February 1, 2011. Travel companies are required to procure travel company liability insurance pursuant to the Liability Insurance Measures. The insurance companies are required to, subject to the liability limits provided under the insurance agreement, reimburse the travel companies for the compensations made by the travel companies for the personal injury or death and the loss of properties of tourists and the relevant tour guides or tour leaders. Pursuant to the Liability Insurance Measures, the liability limit for the personal injury or death of each person cannot be less than RMB200,000 (US$30,875). Each of our relevant consolidated affiliated entities engaged in travel agent business has procured and is covered by valid travel company liability insurance.

Regulations on Group BuyingOnline Transaction Platform Operators

In March 2012,May 2014, the SAIC issued the Opinions on StrengtheningGuidelines for the AdministrationPerformance of Social Responsibilities by Online Group Buying Operations,Transaction Platform Operators, or the Group Buying Operation Opinions.Online Transaction Platform Operators Guidelines. The Group Buying Operation OpinionsOnline Transaction Platform Operators Guidelines stipulate the qualification requirements for operators of group buying websites,online transaction platform, and certain other obligations, such as an examination and registration of the licenses and authorizations of the providers of the relevant products or services offered on the group buying website, the group buying websiteany business operator using online transaction platform, online transaction operator’s contracts with such suppliers and customers, data protection for consumers, among others. Pursuant to the Group Buying Operation Opinions,Online Transaction Platform Operators Guidelines, online transaction platform operators of group buying websites must (i) establish a comprehensive after-sales service system,consumer protection and consumer dispute settlement system, and professional customer service team, (ii) ensure that their complaint and customer support channels are smooth, (iii) provide customers with troubleshooting assistance and feedback in a timely manner, and (iv) comply with the refund requirements of the Consumer Protection Law, which specifically prohibit group buying website operators from imposing no-refund restrictions or limiting refunds to website credit.smooth.

In addition, group buying websiteonline transaction platform operators must also preserve all relevant online transaction data for a period ofat least two years following their cessationfrom the date of operations. In undertaking promotions, operatorsthe transaction. Operators of group buying websitesonline transaction platform must obey the Consumer Protection Law, the Product Quality Law, the Anti-unfair Competition Law and the Certain Regulations on Prohibiting Unfair Competition in Prize-attached Sales. The Group Buying Operation Opinions are relatively newother relevant laws and there have been no relevant implementation rules or interpretations thus far. However,regulations. Furthermore, as required by Jiangsu Administration of Telecommunication, Nanjing Tuniu, our consolidated affiliated entity, has obtained a license of online data processing and transaction which will expire in March 2019 in order to engage in the group buying business.2019. Subject to any clarifications or interpretations that may be issued in future as to the Group Buying Operation Opinions,Online Transaction Platform Operators Guidelines, we might need to adjust our operational or contracting practices.

Regulations on Consumer Rights Protection

According to the PRC Consumer Protection Law, as amended on October 25, 2013 and became effective as of March 15, 2014, the rights and interests of consumers that purchase or use commodities or that receive services for consumption purposes in daily life is required to be protected, which includes the right to personal safety and the safety of property, the right to be informed about goods and services offered for sale, the right to free choice when selecting goods or services and the right to enjoy fair dealings, respect for their personal dignity and ethnic customs, and compensation for damages suffered.

Correspondingly, a business operator providing a commodity or service to a consumer is subject to a number of requirements, which includes to ensure that commodities and services meet with certain safety requirements, to disclose serious defects of a commodity or a service and to adopt preventive measures against damage occurring, to provide consumers with accurate information and to refrain from conducting false advertising, and not to set unreasonable or unfair terms for consumers or alleviate or release itself from civil liability for harming the lawful rights and interests of consumers by means of standard contracts, circulars, announcements, shop notices or other means. A business operator may be subject to civil liabilities for failing to fulfill the obligations discussed above. These liabilities include restoring the consumer’s reputation, eliminating the adverse effects suffered by the consumer, offering an apology and compensating for any losses incurred. The following penalties may also be imposed upon business operators for any infraction: issuance of a warning, confiscation of any illegal income, imposition of a fine, an order to cease business operation, revocation of its business license or imposition of criminal liabilities under circumstances that are specified in laws and statutory regulations.

The amended Consumer Protection Law further strengthens the protection of consumers and imposes more stringent requirements and obligations on business operators, especially on the business operators through the internet. The consumers whose interests are harmed due to their purchase of goods or acceptance of services on online marketplace platforms may claim damages from sellers or service providers. As to legal liabilities of the online marketplace platform provider, the Consumer Protection Law set forth that, where a consumer purchases products or accepts services via an online trading platform and his or her interests are prejudiced, if the online trading platform provider fails to provide the name, address and valid contact information of the seller, the manufacturer or the service provider, the consumer is entitled to demand compensation from the online trading platform provider. If the online trading platform provider gives an undertaking that is more favorable to consumers, it shall perform such undertaking. Once the online trading platform provider has paid compensation, it shall have a right of recourse against the seller, the manufacturer or the service provider. If an online trading platform provider is aware or ought to have been aware that a seller, manufacturer or service provider is using the online platform to infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of consumers and it fails to take necessary measures, it shall bear joint and several liabilities with the seller, the manufacturer or service provider for such infringement. The Tort Liability Law of the PRC, which was enacted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on December 26, 2009, also provides that if an online service provider is aware that an online user is committing infringing activities, such as selling counterfeit products, through its internet services and fails to take necessary measures, it shall be jointly and severally liable with the said online user for such infringement. If the online service provider receives any notice from the infringed party on any infringing activities, the online service provider shall take necessary measures, including deleting, blocking and unlinking the infringing content, in a timely manner. Otherwise, it will be jointly and severally liable with the relevant online user for the extended damages.

In December 2003, the Supreme People’s Court in China enacted the Interpretation of Some Issues Concerning the Application of Law for the Trial of Cases on Compensation for Personal Injury, which further increases the liabilities of business operators engaged in the operation of hotels, restaurants, or entertainment facilities and subjects such operators to compensatory liabilities for failing to fulfill their statutory obligations to a reasonable extent or to guarantee the personal safety of others.

In October 2010, the Supreme People’s Court of China issued the Provisions on Issues Concerning the Application of Law for the Trial of Cases on Tourism-related Disputes, which establish liabilities for tour operators and tourism support service providers in the event of contract disputes, personal injury and property damage involving tourists.

Although we take certain measures to monitor the qualities of the travel products and services provided by our travel suppliers and handle customer complaints, we cannot ensure that these measures are sufficient to protect consumer rights, or customer dispute can be handled and resolved in a timely fashion. See “Item 3. D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—We may not be able to adequately control and ensure the quality of travel products and services sourced from our travel suppliers. If there is any deterioration in the quality of their performance, our customers may seek damages from us and not continue using our online platform.”

Regulations on Advertising Business

The SAIC is the primary governmental authority regulating advertising activities, including online advertising, in China. Regulations that apply to advertising business primarily include:

According to the above regulations, companies that engage in advertising activities must each obtain, from the SAIC or its local branches, a business license which specifically includes operating an advertising business in its business scope. An enterprise engaging in advertising business within the specifications in its business scope does not need to apply for an advertising operation license,the registration for advertisement publication, provided that such enterprise is not a radio station, television station, newspaper or magazine publisher or any other entity otherwise specified in the relevant laws or administrative regulations. Enterprises conducting advertising activities without such a license may be subject to penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income and orders to cease advertising operations. The business license of an advertising company is valid for the duration of its existence, unless the license is suspended or revoked due to a violation of any relevant laws or regulations.periodical publishers.

Under the Rules for Administration of Foreign Invested Advertising Enterprises, which were jointly promulgated by the SAIC and the Ministry of CommerceMOC on March 2, 2004 and amended on August 22, 2008, certain foreign investors are permitted to hold direct equity interests in PRC advertising companies. A foreign investor in a Chinese advertising company is required to have prior direct advertising operations as its main business outside China for two years if the Chinese advertising company is a joint venture, or three years if the Chinese advertising company is a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. Since we have not been involved in the advertising industry outside of China for the required number of years, we are not permitted to hold direct equity interests in PRC companies engaging in the advertising business. Therefore, we conduct our advertising business through Nanjing Tuniu, which holds a business license that covers advertising in its business scope. The Rules for Administration of Foreign Invested Advertising Enterprises has been abolished on June 29, 2015.

PRC advertising laws and regulations set certain content requirements for advertisements in China, including, among other things, prohibitions on false or misleading content, superlative wording, socially destabilizing content or content involving obscenities, superstition, violence, discrimination or infringement of the public interest. Advertisers, advertising agencies, and advertising distributors are required to ensure that the content of the advertisements they prepare or distribute is true and in full compliance with applicable laws. In providing advertising services, advertising operators and advertising distributors must review the supporting documents provided by advertisers for advertisements and verify that the content of the advertisements complies with applicable PRC laws and regulations. Prior to distributing advertisements that are subject to government censorship and approval, advertising distributors are obligated to verify that such censorship has been performed and approval has been obtained. Violation of these regulations may result in penalties, including fines, confiscation of advertising income, orders to cease dissemination of the advertisements and orders to publish an advertisement correcting the misleading information. Where serious violations occur, the SAIC or its local branches may revoke such offenders’ licenses or permits for their advertising business operations.

Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights

The PRC has adopted legislation governing intellectual property rights, including trademarks, domain names and copyrights.

Trademark

The PRC Trademark Law and its implementation rules protect registered trademarks. The PRC Trademark Office of the SAIC is responsible for the registration and administration of trademarks throughout the PRC. The Trademark Law has adopted a “first-to-file” principle with respect to trademark registration. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had 139282 registered trademarks in different applicable trademark categories and were in the process of applying to register 240163 trademarks in China.

In addition, pursuant to the PRC Trademark Law, counterfeit or unauthorized production of the label of another person’s registered trademark, or sale of any label that is counterfeited or produced without authorization will be deemed as an infringement to the exclusive right to use a registered trademark. The infringing party will be ordered to stop the infringement immediately, a fine may be imposed and the counterfeit goods will be confiscated. The infringing party may also be held liable for the right holder’s damages, which will be equal to the gains obtained by the infringing party or the losses suffered by the right holder as a result of the infringement, including reasonable expenses incurred by the right holder for stopping the infringement. If the gains or losses, or royalties are difficult to determine, the court may render a judgment awarding damages of up to RMB3,000,000 (US$463,122)432,090).

Domain Name

Domain names are protected under the Administrative Measures on the Internet Domain Names promulgated by the MIIT in November 2004. The MIIT is the major regulatory body responsible for the administration of the PRC Internet domain names, under supervision of which the China Internet Network Information Center, or CNNIC, is responsible for the daily administration of .cn domain names and Chinese domain names. In September 2002, the CNNIC issued the Implementation Rules for Domain Name Registration setting forth rules for registration of domain names, as amended in June 2009 and May 2012. CNNIC adopts the “first to file” principle with respect to the registration of domain names. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had 10081 registered domain names, includingwww.tuniu.com.

Copyright

Works are protected under the PRC Copyright Law adopted by the National People’s Congress in 1990, as amended in 2001 and 2010, as well as its implementation rules adopted by the State Council in 1991, as amended in 2002, 2011 and 2011.2013. Whether such protected works are published or not, copyrights duly obtained and enjoyed by the author or other copyright owner remain unaffected. Copyright owners, however, could register such protected works on a voluntary basis with National Copyright Administration or its local counterparts. We have registered 1117 artwork copyrights in China.

Pursuant to the PRC Copyright Law and its implementation rules, creators of protected works enjoy personal and property rights, including, among others, the right of disseminating the works through information network. Pursuant to the relevant PRC regulations, rules and interpretations, Internet service providers will be jointly liable with the infringer if they (i) participate in, assist in or abet infringing activities committed by any other person through the Internet, (ii) are or should be aware of the infringing activities committed by their website users through the Internet, or (iii) fail to remove infringing content or take other action to eliminate infringing consequences after receiving a warning with evidence of such infringing activities from the copyright holder. In addition, where an ICP service operator is clearly aware of the infringement of certain content against another’s copyright through the Internet, or fails to take measures to remove relevant contents upon receipt of the copyright owner’s notice, and as a result, it damages the public interest, the ICP service operator could be ordered to stop the tortious act and be subject to other administrative penalties such as confiscation of illegal income and fines. To comply with these laws and regulations, we have implemented internal procedures to monitor and review the content we have licensed from content providers before they are released on our website and remove any infringing content promptly after we receive notice of infringement from the legitimate rights holder.

Software Copyrights

The Administrative Measures on Software Products, issued by the MIIT in October 2000 and subsequently amended in March 2009, provides a registration and filing system with respect to software products made in or imported into China. These software products may be registered with the relevant local authorities in charge of software industry administration. Registered software products may enjoy preferential treatment status granted by relevant software industry regulations. Software products can be registered for five years, and the registration is renewable upon expiration.

In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations promulgated by the PRC State Council in December 2001, amended in 2011 and 2013, provide that the rights and interests of computer software copyright owners are protected. A Chinese citizen, legal person, or other organization shall be entitled to the copyright in software developed thereby regardless of whether the software has been published or not. A foreigner’s or stateless person’s software shall enjoy copyright if it is first distributed in China.

In order to further implement the Computer Software Protection Regulations, the State Copyright Bureau issued the Computer Software Copyright Registration Procedures in February 2002, amended in 2014,2004, which apply to software copyright registration, license contract registration and transfer contract registration. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had 3441 registered computer software copyrights in China.

Patents

Patents are protected under the PRC Patent Law adopted by the National People’s Congress in 1984, as amended in 1992, 2000 and 2008, as well as its implementation rules adopted by the State Council in 1985, as amended in 1992, 2001, 2002 and 2010. The Patent Office under the State Intellectual Property Office is responsible for receiving, examining and approving patent application. A patent is valid for a term of 20 years in the case of an invention and a term of 10 years in the case of utility models and designs. A third-party user must obtain consent or a proper license from the patent owner to use the patent. Otherwise, the use constitutes an infringement of patent rights. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we had one4 registered patent, and were in the process of applying to register 1229 patents in China.

Tort Liability Law

In accordance with the Tort Liability Law promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in December 2009, which became effective as of July 1, 2010, Internet users and Internet service providers bear tortious liabilities in the event they infringe other persons’ rights and interests through the Internet. Where an Internet user conducts tortious acts through Internet services, the infringed person has the right to request the Internet service provider to take necessary actions such as deleting contents, screening and delinking. The Internet service provider, failing to take necessary actions after being informed, will be subject to joint and several liabilities with the Internet user with regard to the additional damages incurred. If an Internet service provider knows an Internet user is infringing other persons’ rights and interests through its Internet service but fails to take necessary action, it shall be jointly and severally liable with the Internet user. We have internal policies designed to reduce the likelihood that user content may be used without proper licenses or third-party consents. When we are approached and requested to remove content uploaded by users on the grounds of infringement, we investigate the claims and remove any uploads that appear to infringe the rights of a third party after our reasonable investigation and determination. However, such policy may not be effective in preventing the unauthorized listing of copyrighted materials or materials infringing other rights of third parties. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—Claims by third parties that we infringe on their intellectual property rights could lead to government administrative actions and result in significant costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Regulations on Foreign Currency Exchange

Pursuant to the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations, as amended in August 2008, if documents certifying the purpose of the conversion of Renminbi into foreign currency are submitted to the relevant foreign exchange conversion bank, the Renminbi is convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest payments, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not for capital account items, such as direct investments, loans, repatriation of investments and investments in securities outside of China, unless SAFE’ s prior approval is obtained and prior registration with SAFE is made. In May 2013, SAFE promulgated SAFE Circular 21 which provides for and simplifies the operational steps and regulations on foreign exchange matters related to direct investment by foreign investors, including foreign exchange registration, account opening and use, receipt and payment of funds, and settlement and sales of foreign exchange. We generally follow the regulations and apply to obtain the approval of SAFE and other relevant PRC government authorities. However, we may not be able to obtain these government registrations or approvals on a timely basis, if at all. If we fail to receive such registrations or approvals, our ability to provide loans or capital contributions to our PRC subsidiaries and our consolidated affiliated entities may be negatively affected, which could adversely affect our liquidity and our ability to fund and expand our business.

In August 2008, SAFE promulgated a SAFE Circular 142 regulating the conversion, by a foreign-invested enterprise, of foreign currency into Renminbi by restricting how the converted Renminbi may be used. The SAFE Circular 142 requires that the registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise settled in Renminbi converted from foreign currencies may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the registered capital of a foreign-invested enterprise settled in Renminbi converted from foreign currencies. The use of such Renminbi capital may not be changed without SAFE’ s approval, and may not in any case be used to repay Renminbi loans if the proceeds of such loans have not been used. Violations of the SAFE Circular 142 will result in penalties, such as fines. SAFE decided to further reform the foreign exchange administration system in order to satisfy and facilitate the business and capital operations of foreign invested enterprises, and issued the Circular on the Relevant Issues Concerning the Launch of Reforming Trial of the Administration Model of the Settlement of Foreign Currency Capital of Foreign-Invested Enterprises in Certain Areas on August 4, 2014, or Circular 36. This circular suspends the application of SAFE Circular 142 in certain areas and allows a foreign-invested enterprise registered in such areas with a business scope including “investment” to use the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital for equity investments within the PRC. On March 30, 2015, SAFE promulgated Circular 19, to expand the reform nationwide. Circular 19 came into force and replaced both Circular 142 and Circular 36 on June 1, 2015. Circular 19 allows foreign-invested enterprises to make equity investments by using Renminbi fund converted from foreign exchange capital. However, Circular 19 continues to prohibit foreign-invested enterprises from, among other things, using Renminbi fund converted from its foreign exchange capitals for expenditure beyond its business scope, providing entrusted loans or repaying loans between non-financial enterprises. In June 2016, SAFE promulgated Notice on Reforming and Standardizing the Administrative Provisions on Capital Account Foreign Exchange Settlement which further stipulates that foreign-invested enterprises shall not use Renminbi fund converted from foreign exchange capital for disbursing loans to non-affiliated enterprises, except for expressly permitted by its business scope. In addition, SAFE strengthened its oversight of the flow and use of the Renminbi capital converted from foreign currency registered capital of a foreign-invested company. SAFE also promulgated a SAFE Circular 45 in November 2011, which, among other things, restricts a foreign-invested enterprise from using Renminbi converted from its registered capital to provide entrusted loans or repay loans between non-financial enterprises. Circular 45 was abolished on March 19, 2015. These circulars may significantly limit our ability to use Renminbi converted from net proceeds of our initial public offering and the concurrent private placement and our subsequent private placement in December 2014, May 2015 and November 2015 to fund establishment of new PRC subsidiaries, to invest in or acquire any other PRC companies, or establish new consolidated affiliated entities in the PRC.

Regulations on Dividend Distribution

The principal regulations governing distribution of dividends of wholly foreign-owned enterprises include the PRC Company Law, as amended in December 2013, the Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law, as amended in October 2000 and 2016, and the Implementation Rules of the Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise Law, as amended in February 2014. Pursuant to these laws and regulations, foreign-invested enterprises in China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, wholly foreign-owned enterprises in China are required to allocate at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds unless these reserves have reached 50% of the registered capital of the enterprises. In addition, these companies may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits based on PRC accounting standards to employee welfare and bonus funds at their discretion. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends.

Regulations on Offshore Financing

Pursuant to a SAFE Circular 37 issued by SAFE on July 4, 2014, which replaced the former circular commonly known as “Safe Circular 75” issued by SAFE in October 2005, prior registration with the local SAFE branch is required for PRC residents in connection with their direct establish or indirect control of an offshore entity, for the purposes of overseas investment and financing, with assets or equity interests of onshore companies or offshore assets or interests held by such PRC residents, referred to in SAFE Circular 37 as a “special purpose vehicle.” The PRC residents are also required to amend the registration or filing with the local SAFE branch in the event of any significant changes with respect to the special purpose vehicle, such as increase or decrease of capital contributed by PRC residents, share transfer or exchange, merger, division or other material event.

Failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in the SAFE Circular 37 may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant onshore company, including the increase of its registered capital, the payment of dividends and other distributions to its offshore parent or affiliate and the capital inflow from the offshore entities, and may also subject relevant PRC residents to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations. PRC residents who control our company from time to time are required to register with SAFE in connection with their investments in us. We requested PRC residents holding direct or indirect interests in our company to our knowledge to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under SAFE Circular 75 and other related rules prior to our initial public offering. However, we might not be fully informed of the identities of all of our beneficial owners who are PRC citizens or residents, and we cannot compel our beneficial owners to comply with the requirements of SAFE Circular 37. As a result, we cannot assure you that all of our shareholders or beneficial owners who are PRC citizens or residents have complied with and will in the future make or obtain any applicable registrations or approvals required by SAFE Circular 37 or other related regulations. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulations relating to offshore investment activities by PRC residents may limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital or distribute profits to us, limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, or otherwise expose us to liability and penalties under PRC laws.”

Regulations on Employee Stock Option Plans

In February 2012, SAFE promulgated the Stock Option Rules, replacing the previous rules issued by SAFE in March 2007. Under the Stock Option Rules and other relevant rules and regulations, PRC residents who participate in stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly-listed company, which includes employee stock ownership plans, stock option plans and other incentive plans permitted by relevant laws and regulations, are required to register with SAFE or its local branches and complete certain other procedures. Participants of a stock incentive plan in an overseas publicly listed company who are PRC residents must retain a qualified PRC agent, which could be a PRC subsidiary of the overseas publicly listed company or another qualified institution selected by the PRC subsidiary, to conduct the SAFE registration and other procedures with respect to the stock incentive plan on behalf of its participants. The participants must also retain an overseas entrusted institution to handle matters in connection with their exercise of stock options, the purchase and sale of corresponding stocks or interests and fund transfers. In addition, the PRC agent is required to amend the SAFE registration with respect to the stock incentive plan if there is any material change to the stock incentive plan, the PRC agent or the overseas entrusted institution or other material changes. The PRC agents must, on behalf of the PRC residents who have the right to exercise the employee share options, apply to SAFE or its local branches for an annual quota for the payment of foreign currencies in connection with the PRC residents’ exercise of the employee share options. The foreign exchange proceeds received by the PRC residents from the sale of shares under the stock incentive plans granted and dividends distributed by the overseas listed companies must be remitted into the bank accounts in the PRC opened by the PRC agents before distribution to such PRC residents.

We adopted the 2008 Plan, pursuant to which we may issue options or restricted shares to our qualified employees and consultants on a regular basis. We also adopted the 2014 Plan, which permits the granting of options to purchase our ordinary shares, restricted shares and restricted share units. The failure of the share options holders to complete their registration pursuant to the Stock Option Rules and other foreign exchange requirements may subject these PRC individuals to fines and legal sanctions, and may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute dividends to us or otherwise materially adversely affect our business. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Failure to comply with PRC regulations regarding the registration requirements for share option plans may subject the PRC plan participants or us to fines and other legal or administrative sanctions.”

In addition, the State Administration for Taxation has issued circulars concerning employee share options, under which our employees working in the PRC who exercise share options will be subject to PRC individual income tax. Our PRC subsidiaries have obligations to file documents related to employee share options with relevant tax authorities and to withhold individual income taxes of those employees who exercise their share options. If our employees fail to pay or if we fail to withhold their income taxes as required by relevant laws and regulations, we may face sanctions imposed by the PRC tax authorities or other PRC government authorities.

Regulations on Overseas Listing

Six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, jointly adopted the Regulations on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, which became effective on September 8, 2006 and which were amended on June 22, 2009, with such amendments becoming effective as of the same date. The M&A Rules, among other things, require offshore SPVs formed for overseas listing purposes through acquisitions of PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC companies or individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to publicly listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange.

While the application of this new regulation remains unclear, we believe, based on the advice of our PRC counsel, Fangda Partners, that CSRC approval was not required in the context of our initial public offering because (1) CSRC currently has not issued any definitive rule or interpretation concerning whether offerings like initial public offerings are subject to this regulation and (2) we established our PRC subsidiaries by means of direct investment other than by merger or acquisition of PRC domestic companies and no explicit provision in the M&A Rules classifies the contractual arrangements between Beijing Tuniu, our PRC subsidiary, Nanjing Tuniu, our consolidated affiliated entity, and its shareholders as a type of acquisition transaction falling under the M&A Rules. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The approval of the China Securities Regulatory Commission may have been required in connection with our earlier initial public offering under a regulation adopted in August 2006, and, if required, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such approval.”

Regulations on Employment

The PRC Labor Law, the PRC Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules provide requirements concerning employment contracts between an employer and its employees. If an employer fails to enter into a written employment contract with an employee within one year from the date on which the employment relationship is established, the employer would be deemed to have entered into a labor contract without a fixed term with such employee. In addition, the employer must rectify the situation by entering into a written employment contract with the employee and pay the employee twice the employee’s salary for the period from the day following the lapse of one month from the date of establishment of the employment relationship to the day prior to the execution of the written employment contract. The Labor Contract Law and its implementation rules also require compensation to be paid upon certain terminations. In addition, if an employer intends to enforce a non-compete provision with an employee in an employment contract or non-competition agreement, it has to compensate the employee on a monthly basis during the term of the restriction period after the termination or ending of the labor contract. Employers in most cases are also required to provide a severance payment to their employees after their employment relationships are terminated.

Enterprises in China are required by PRC laws and regulations to participate in certain employee benefit plans, including social insurance funds, namely a pension plan, a medical insurance plan, an unemployment insurance plan, a work-related injury insurance plan and a maternity insurance plan, and a housing provident fund, and contribute to the plans or funds in amounts equal to certain percentages of salaries, including bonuses and allowances, of the employees as specified by the local government from time to time at locations where they operate their businesses or where they are located.

Regulations on Taxation

For a discussion of applicable PRC tax regulations, see “Item 5.A. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—Operating Results—Taxation.”

The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure, including our principal subsidiaries and consolidated affiliated entities, as of the date of this annual report on Form 20-F:

Agreements that Provide us with Effective Control over Nanjing Tuniu

Purchase Option Agreement. Pursuant to the purchase option agreement entered into on September 17, 2008, restated and amended on January 24, 2014 and further restated and amended on March 19, 2014, each of the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu irrevocably and exclusively grants Beijing Tuniu an option to purchase, or have its designated person or persons to purchase, at its discretion, to the extent permitted under PRC law, all or part of such shareholder’s equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu. The aggregate purchase price is RMB2.4 million (US$0.40.3 million). The shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu agree, without the prior written consent of Beijing Tuniu, not to transfer or otherwise dispose of their equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu, pledge their equity interests or create any encumbrance on their equity interests. The agreement remains effective until all equity interests held in Nanjing Tuniu by the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu are transferred or assigned to Beijing Tuniu or its designated person or persons. The purchase price has been prepaid by Beijing Tuniu to the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu.

Equity Interest Pledge Agreement. Pursuant to the equity interest pledge agreement entered into on September 17, 2008 and supplemented on March 19, 2014, each of the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu pledges all of such shareholder’s equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu to guarantee the performance of the obligations under the purchase option agreement. If the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu breach their contractual obligations under the purchase option agreement, Beijing Tuniu, as the pledgee, will have the right to either conclude an agreement with the pledgor to obtain the pledged equity or seek payments from the proceeds of the auction or sell-off of the pledged equity to any person pursuant to the PRC law. The shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu agree that, during the term of the equity interest pledge agreement, they will not dispose of the pledged equity interests or create or allow any encumbrance on the pledged equity interests. During the equity pledge period, Beijing Tuniu is entitled to all dividends and other distributions made by Nanjing Tuniu. The equity interest pledge became effective on the date when the equity interest pledge was registered with the relevant local administration for industry and commerce, and remains effective until the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu discharge all their obligations under the purchase option agreement, or Beijing Tuniu enforces the equity interest pledge, whichever is earlier. We have completed the registration of the equity interest pledge with Xuanwu Branch of Nanjing Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Shareholders’ Voting Rights Agreement. Pursuant to the shareholders’ voting rights agreement entered into on September 17, 2008, the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu appointed Beijing Tuniu or its designated person as their attorney-in-fact to exercise all of their voting and related rights with respect to their equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu, including attending shareholders’ meetings, voting on all matters of Nanjing Tuniu requiring shareholder approval, nominating and appointing directors, convening extraordinary shareholders’ meetings, and other voting rights pursuant to the then-effective articles of association of Nanjing Tuniu. The shareholders’ voting rights agreement will remain in force until all the parties to the agreement mutually agree to terminate the agreement in writing or cease to be shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu.

Irrevocable Powers of Attorney. Pursuant to the powers of attorney dated January 24, 2014, the shareholders of Nanjing Tuniu each irrevocably appointed Beijing Tuniu as the attorney-in-fact to exercise all of such shareholder’s voting and related rights with respect to such shareholder’s equity interests in Nanjing Tuniu, including but not limited to attending shareholders’ meetings, voting on all matters of Nanjing Tuniu requiring shareholder approval, nominating and appointing directors, convening extraordinary shareholders’ meetings, and other voting rights pursuant to the then-effective articles of association of Nanjing Tuniu. Each power of attorney will remain in force until the shareholders’ voting rights agreement expires or is terminated. These powers of attorney replaced the powers of attorney previously granted to a person designated by Beijing Tuniu on September 17, 2008.

Agreement that Allows us to Receive Economic Benefits from Nanjing Tuniu

Cooperation Agreement. Under the cooperation agreement entered into on September 17, 2008 and restated and amended on January 24, 2014, Beijing Tuniu has the exclusive and irrevocable right to provide to Nanjing Tuniu business consulting, technical consulting and technical services related to the businesses of Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries. Beijing Tuniu owns the exclusive intellectual property rights created by Nanjing Tuniu or its employees as a result of the performance of this agreement. Beijing Tuniu has the right to receive, or designate a person or persons to receive, a quarterly service fee, which equals the profits of each of Nanjing Tuniu and its subsidiaries, to which it provides such business consulting, technical consulting and technical services, provided that such amount of service fees can be adjusted by Beijing Tuniu at its sole discretion. This agreement will remain effective until expiration of Beijing Tuniu’s business term, unless Beijing Tuniu exercises its unilateral right to terminate the agreement, one of the parties is declared bankrupt or Beijing Tuniu is not able to provide consulting and services as agreed for more than three consecutive years because of force majeure. Nanjing Tuniu is not permitted to terminate the agreement in any other event.

In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2015,2016, we received service fees of RMB22.6 million, RMB20.5 million, and RMB42.4 million and RMB109.6 million (US$6.515.8 million), respectively, from our consolidated affiliated entities, which were eliminated on consolidated financial statements.

Our principal executive offices, consisting of our administrative center, sales and marketing division, technical services department, and call center, are located on leased premises in Nanjing comprising approximately 35,576 square meters. In addition, as of December 31, 2015, we had 160 regional service centers located in 154 cities across China. We lease these premises under lease agreements from unrelated third parties, and we plan to renew these leases from time to time as needed. We believe that the facilities we currently lease for our executive offices are adequate to meet our administrative needs for the foreseeable future, and we believe that we will be able to obtain adequate facilities, principally through the leasing of additional properties, to accommodate our strategic regional expansion plans of adding more service centers in different parts of China.

Not applicable.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon, and should be read in conjunction with, our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included in this annual report on Form 20-F. This report contains forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Information.” In evaluating our business, you should carefully consider the information provided under the caption “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors” in this annual report on Form 20-F. We caution you that our businesses and financial performance are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties.

Overview

We are a leading online leisure travel company in China. We offer a large selection of packaged tours, including organized tours and self-guided tours, as well as travel-related services for leisure travelers. We started offering packaged tours online in 2007, and have sold approximately five17 million packaged tours since our inception. As of December 31, 2015,2016, we offered packaged tours sourced from over 11,00016,000 travel suppliers, covering over 150 countries as well as all popular tourist attractions in China. Our product portfolio consists of over 600,000700,000 stock keeping units, or SKUs, of organized tours, over 850,0001,000,000 SKUs of self-guided tours, and tickets for over 1,000 domestic and overseas tourist attractions. Our core strength is in overseas leisure travel products and services, which contributed over 65%63.8% of our packaged tour gross bookings in 2015.2016. In 2015,2016, the number of orders placed through our mobile platform accounted for approximately 70%80% of total orders placed through our online platform and average daily unique visitors to our mobile platform accounted for approximately 70% of the average daily unique visitors to our online platform.

We have achieved significant growth in recent years. Our net revenues increased from RMB1,949.7 million in 2013 to RMB3,534.9 million in 2014 to RMB7,645.3 million and further to RMB7,645.3RMB10,548.3 million (US$1,180.21,519.3 million) in 2015,2016, representing a CAGR of 98.0%72.7%. We had a net loss of RMB79.6 million, RMB447.9 million, and RMB1,462.4 million, and RMB2,442.6 million (US$225.8351.8 million) in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 20152016 respectively. We generally collect payments from our customers upon contract confirmation before we pay our travel suppliers. Our net cash provided by operating activities was RMB116.7 million in 2013, and our net cash used in operating activities was RMB271.1 million, and RMB514.7 million and RMB2,239.4 million (US$79.5322.6 million) in 2014, 2015 and 2015,2016, respectively.

Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability depends on our ability to effectively reduce our costs and expenses as a percentage of our net revenues. Our cost of revenues as a percentage of our net revenues remained relatively stable at 93.8% in 2013 andincreased from 93.6% in 2014 and increased to 95.2% in 2015. Cost2015, and decreased to suppliers of our organized tours, which were attributed solely to revenues from organized tours, accounted for 92.4%, 92.2% and 94.1% of our revenues from organized tours in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.2016. Our operating expenses as a percentage of our net revenues increased from 11.1% in 2013 to 19.8% in 2014 to 23.9% in 2015 and further to 23.9%29.8% in 2015.2016. Such increase was primarily due to higher levels of spending associated with our rapidly expanding business operations, including expenses related to regional expansion, branding and advertising campaigns, mobile related initiatives and expenses related to technology, product development and administrative personnel such as share-based compensation. Our past results of operations should not be taken as indicative of our future performance. We plan to continue our sales and marketing efforts using offline and online media to further increase our brand recognition and market share. Our sales and marketing expenses increased from RMB110.1 million in 2013 to RMB434.2 million in 2014 to RMB1,154.2 million in 2015 and further to RMB1,154.2RMB1,908.4 million (US$178.2274.9 million) in 2015.2016. We also expect our share-based compensation expenses to continue to increase. As a result, we expect our operating expenses to continue to increase in the absolute amount. If we fail to effectively reduce our costs and expenses as a percentage of our net revenues, we may not be able to achieve and maintain profitability.

Selected Income Statement Items

Revenues

We generate revenues primarily from sales of packaged tours, which consist of organized tours and self-guided tours. Substantially all of our revenues from organized tours are recognized on a gross basis, which represents amounts received from customers, as we act as the principal in these transactions. Revenues from self-guided tours are recognized on a net basis, representing the difference between the amount received from customers and the amount due to our travel suppliers, as we act as an agent for travel suppliers. See also “—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates.”

The following table sets forth the components of our revenues in absolute amounts and as percentages of our net revenues for the periods presented: