TOUR Tuniu Corporation

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, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and the consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2015 and 2016 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, 2012 and 2013 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2012, 2013 and 2014 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 RMB6.9430 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect as of December 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 7, 2017, the noon buying rate was RMB6.8978 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 has slowed down in recent years. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 6.7% in 2016. It is uncertain whether this economic slowdown will continue into 2017 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 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 63.8% of our packaged tour gross bookings in 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 Nice terrorist attack in France, the coup in Turkey, and the deployment of THAAD by South Korea in 2016 negatively impacted short-term travel demand for the 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 air 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 RMB447.9 million, RMB1,462.4 million and RMB2,442.6 million (US$351.8 million) in 2014, 2015 and 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, attract new customers or increase their market shares. In response, we started to take and may continue to take similar measures and as a result will incur significant expenses, which in turn could negatively affect our 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 expect to continue 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 2016, the number of orders placed through our mobile platform accounted for approximately 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 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 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.

We 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. 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, 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, 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 and restricted shares, 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, 2017, there were options to acquire 9,336,745 ordinary shares outstanding under the 2008 Plan, and options to acquire 21,892,922 ordinary shares and 383,598 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 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. 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 should be filed with the MOC or its local counterpart. We cannot assure you that we will be able to complete the necessary registration or filing on a timely basis, or at all. If we fail to complete the necessary registration or 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 NJ Information Technology 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 NJ Information Technology 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 NJ Information Technology, 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 NJ Information Technology, 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 2014 to 2016 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 tentative administrative measures such as 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 13, 2017, the trading price of our ADSs has ranged from US$7.62 to US$24.99 per ADS, and the last reported trading price on April 13, 2017 was US$8.01 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 4.58% of our outstanding ordinary shares as of March 31, 2017, representing 32.41% of our total voting power. Currently, our directors and officers beneficially own an aggregate of 78.55% of our outstanding shares representing 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. As 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 ADSs, 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 form of ADSs, which are freely transferable by persons other than our affiliates without restriction or additional registration under the Securities Act. The remaining Class A ordinary shares outstanding will be available for sale, subject to volume and other restrictions as applicable under Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities 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, we would likely be treated as a PFIC 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, 2016.

While we do not believe we were a PFIC for the taxable year ended December 31, 2016, no assurance can be given with 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 (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 (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.