LONG Elong ADS Representing 2 Ordinary Shares (MM)

BEIJING, July 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- eLong, Inc. (NASDAQ:LONG), a leading online travel service provider in China, today announced that its board of directors had elected Barney Harford as chairman, effective July 27, 2006. Mr Harford is one of Expedia, Inc.'s representatives on eLong's board. Expedia, the largest online travel company in the world, is eLong's controlling shareholder, with approximately 52% of the company's equity. Mr Harford is President of Expedia Asia Pacific and has been a board member of eLong since August, 2004. eLong's founder Justin Tang is stepping down as chairman in order to devote more time to his investment activities. Mr Tang will remain a member of the eLong board of directors. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041118/ELONGLOGO ) "The cooperation between eLong and Expedia has been a pivotal part of eLong's success in the two years since Expedia's original investment," said Justin Tang, eLong's founder. "I am delighted to be able to hand over the role of chairman to someone with Barney Harford's insight into the online travel industry and passion for the opportunity that eLong has to transform the Chinese travel distribution landscape." eLong today also announced the appointment of Tony Shen as interim CFO of eLong, also effective July 27, 2006. Former CFO Derek Palaschuk is resigning to pursue other entrepreneurial opportunities. In making the announcement, eLong CEO Tom SooHoo commented: "Derek Palaschuk has played an integral role in bringing eLong to profitability and we thank him warmly for his contributions to the company over the last several years. We wish him all the best in his future career. We're pleased to be able to bring on Tony Shen into this role on an interim basis, and Tony will be considered together with other candidates for the permanent CFO position." Separately, eLong today also announced results for the second quarter of 2006. About Barney Harford Barney Harford is president of Expedia Asia Pacific and a board member of eLong, Inc. Mr Harford joined Expedia in 1999 and has held a variety of positions at the company including director of corporate development and strategic planning, vice president of new channel development, and senior vice president of air, car and private label. Prior to joining Expedia, Mr Harford worked in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997 as a strategy consultant with The Kalchas Group. Mr Harford holds an MBA from INSEAD and an MA in History and Philosophy of Science from Clare College, Cambridge. About Tony Shen Prior to joining eLong, Tony Shen was at China Netcom and its affiliated companies from 2003 to 2005. He served as CFO and Vice President of Finance for Joyzone Networks and as General Manager of Overseas Investment Management, China Netcom International. Prior to China Netcom, Mr Shen served in senior finance roles at Solectron Corp and Digital Equipment Corp in the US, and in marketing at Siemens AG in Guangzhou. Mr Shen received a BE in Electrical Engineering from Tsinghua University and an MBA from Columbia Business School. About eLong, Inc. eLong, Inc. (NASDAQ:LONG) is a leading online travel company in China. Headquartered in Beijing, eLong has a national presence across China. eLong uses web-based distribution technologies and a 24-hour call center to provide consumers with access to travel reservation services. Aiming to enrich people's lives through the freedom of independent travel, eLong empowers consumers to make informed choices by providing a one-stop travel solution and consolidated travel tools and information such as maps, virtual tours and user ratings. eLong has the capacity to fulfill air ticket reservations in over 57 major cities across China. In addition to choice of a wide hotel selection in the Greater China region, eLong offers Chinese consumers the ability to make bookings at international hotels in over 140 destinations worldwide. eLong operates the websites http://www.elong.com/ and http://www.elong.net/. About Expedia, Inc. Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) is the largest online travel agency in the world. With its portfolio of leading travel brands, Expedia, Inc. empowers travelers around the world with the tools and information they need to research, plan, book and experience travel. Expedia, Inc.'s businesses and brands include: Expedia.com(R), Hotels.com(TM), Hotwire(R), Expedia(R) Corporate Travel, TripAdvisor(TM), Classic Vacations(R) and eLong(TM). For more information, visit http://www.expediainc.com/. Safe Harbor Statement Statements in this press release concerning eLong's future business, operating results and financial condition are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they related to the Company are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are based upon management's current views and expectations with respect to future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Furthermore, these statements are, by their nature, subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance and results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. Factors that could affect the Company's actual results and cause actual results to differ materially from those included in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, eLong's historical operating losses, its limited operating history, declines or disruptions in the travel industry, the recurrence of SARS, an outbreak of bird flu, eLong's reliance on having good relationships with hotel suppliers and airline ticket suppliers, collection risk with respect to eLong's corporate travel accounts receivable, the possibility that eLong will be unable to timely comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the risk that eLong will not be successful in competing against new and existing competitors, risks associated with Expedia, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:EXPE) majority ownership interest in eLong and the integration of eLong's business with that of Expedia's, subsequent revaluations of the Chinese currency, changes in eLong's management team and other key personnel and other risks outlined in eLong's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (or SEC), including eLong's Form 20-F filed with the SEC in connection with the Company's fiscal year 2004 results. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Investor Contact: Raymond Huang eLong, Inc. Investor Relations Manager +86 10 5860 2288 ext. 6633 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041118/ELONGLOGODATASOURCE: eLong, Inc. CONTACT: Raymond Huang of eLong, Inc., Investor Relations Manager, +86-10-5860-2288, ext. 6633, Web site: http://www.elong.com/ http://www.elong.net/ http://www.expediainc.com/

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