Podcasts about mafengwo

For the Chinese people, the eternal theme of the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, remains family reunion, yet an increasing number of Chinese are choosing to integrate travel into their holiday traditions.The change was seen this year as the Spring Festival holiday spanned eight days -- possibly nine with a flexible one-day paid leave -- surpassing the usual one-week holiday in previous years.According to data released Saturday by Chinese travel website Mafengwo, Monday and Tuesday saw peak travel activity."We made a random decision to drive to the historic city of Datong (in northern China) on Monday but were surprised to see a large number of tourists. Local hotel chains are almost always full, and restaurants almost always have a waiting line," said a tourist surnamed Li.NEW TRENDS IN DOMESTIC TOURISMAccording to Mafengwo, family travel accounted for 45 percent of all trips during the holiday, reflecting a trend that young people return home for family reunions before embarking on trips with their families, taking advantage of the extended holiday period.Beijing, Xi'an and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area were among the most popular tourist destinations, said Mafengwo, adding that visiting museums, grottoes, temples and other historical and cultural places was another highlight of this year's Spring Festival travel after temple fairs and folk activities.A report by travel portal Tuniu.com showed an emerging trend for cross-regional travel between the northern and southern parts of the country during the holiday.Harbin, capital of northeastern Heilongjiang province, maintained its growing popularity among people from the South who are eager to explore an ice-and-snow world, while tropical cities such as Sanya, Xishuangbanna, and Beihai remained favored destinations for northlanders seeking winter getaways.SURGING OUTBOUND TOURISMData from multiple online travel platforms showed that on the first day of the eight-day holiday, outbound travel bookings already surpassed the 2019 figure, with Southeast Asian countries, particularly those with visa-free policies for Chinese nationals, emerging as red-hot destinations.From Feb 10 to 13, bookings for hotels in Bangkok tripled year on year, while reservations for Singaporean hotels reported a stunning growth of 800 percent, according to the travel platform LY.com.Several European destinations have introduced unique strategies to attract Chinese tourists. A Michelin-starred restaurant in downtown London has launched a menu specially designed for the Year of the Loong (Dragon), while a railway for the well-known scenic spot Jungfrau in Switzerland has been decorated with Chinese elements to greet Chinese tourists between Feb 8 and 20.With a substantial rise in outbound tourism, this holiday is projected to see a daily port clearance of 1.8 million people nationwide, more than triple that of the previous year and nearly reaching the level of 2019, according to the National Immigration Administration.According to a market forecast by Ctrip, a leading travel platform in China, the eight-day holiday would mark the country's first travel rush of the year, with a notable increase in international travel being one of the highlights."Destinations in Southeast Asia have continued to gain traction as many in China opted for the region for an escape from the winter season," said Gao Tao, from Tuniu. "The tourism industry has gone through a rough patch in the past three years due to the pandemic. But it is now poised for a growth spurt, particularly in outbound tourism."In 2023, China saw its outbound passenger trips exceed 87 million, and this figure is projected to reach 130 million in 2024, according to a paper published by the China Tourism Academy.UPWARD MOMENTUMExperts believe that the revved-up Spring Festival tourism consumption heralds an upward momentum in the tourism sector in 2024.In a recent report, the China Tourism Academy estimated that over 6 billion domestic trips will be made in 2024, and the total number of inbound and outbound travelers is expected to exceed 260 million."With the recovery of the economy, the resumption of international flights and the relaxation of visa policies, it is expected that the scale of domestic tourism consumption will continue to grow in 2024, and the scale of outbound tourism will be comprehensively advanced," said Qi Chunguang, vice president of Tuniu.

Ban Ruiqi and her family recently took a trip to Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province. Despite the extremely cold weather there, the tourists from Beijing skied, shopped and generally had a good time during the three-day New Year holiday.恰逢三天元旦假期，来自北京的班瑞琪和她的家人前往中国东北部黑龙江省哈尔滨旅行。虽然天气极其寒冷，他们依然体验了滑雪、购物，总体上玩得很开心。"We went to the Chinese-Baroque Historic Block in the morning, and the Harbin Ice and Snow World in the afternoon, where I saw some local souvenirs and specialties. I bought some for my friends and relatives back home. I especially liked the hand-drawn postcards," Ban said.班瑞琪说：“我们上午去了中国巴洛克历史街区，下午去了哈尔滨冰雪大世界，在那里看到了一些当地纪念品和特产，就给家里的朋友和亲戚买了一些。我特别喜欢手绘明信片。”As an increasing number of travelers show greater enthusiasm for winter tourism, Harbin's ice and snow economy is booming.随着冬季旅游受到越来越多游客的青睐，哈尔滨的冰雪经济也得以蓬勃发展。With the opening of various ice and snow-themed parks, the city has become popular among tourists. In the two weeks since the opening of the Harbin Ice and Snow World on Dec 18, the city's popularity in searches on China's travel website Mafengwo surged 300 percent, making it an "internet celebrity" city, data from the online platform showed.随着各种冰雪主题公园的开放，哈尔滨吸引来了众多游客。在线平台数据显示，自12月18日哈尔滨冰雪大世界开放以来的两周内，哈尔滨在中国旅游网站马蜂窝的搜索频次飙升了300%，成为了一座“网红城市”。According to Harbin Taiping International Airport, the airport realized an annual throughput of 20 million passenger trips on Dec 20, setting a record for the Northeast China region.哈尔滨太平国际机场的数据显示，12月20日该机场年旅客吞吐量达2000万人次，创下了中国东北地区的纪录。A report released by online travel agency Ctrip showed Harbin ranked on a list of hot New Year holiday tourism destinations in China this year.携程在线旅游发布的一份报告显示，哈尔滨在今年中国春节热门旅游目的地名单中名列前茅。During the three-day holiday period, air and train ticket bookings to Harbin grew by 631 percent year-on-year.在为期三天的假期期间，飞往哈尔滨的机票和火车票预订量同比增长了631%。The Harbin airport added 11 domestic routes, and operated 463 flights, on Dec 22, transporting over 70,000 passengers, setting a record for passenger flow.12月22日，哈尔滨机场新增11条国内航线，运营航班463架次，运送旅客7万余人次，创下客流纪录。On Dec 26, hotel bookings in Harbin for the New Year holiday on Beijing-based online travel agency Qunar surged 2,570 percent on a yearly basis, while those for bed-and-breakfast stays on homestay platform Tujia soared 2,700 percent.12月26日，北京在线旅游去哪儿网显示，哈尔滨元旦假期酒店预订量同比飙升2570%，而民宿平台途家的民宿预订量飙升2700%。“进入冬季旺季，尤其是哈尔滨冰雪大世界开业后，我们的房间预订一直保持满员状态，这种情况将持续到春节期间，”哈尔滨现代酒店总经理助理邓一波说。"Entering the winter peak season, especially after the opening of the Harbin Ice and Snow World, our room reservations have remained full, and the situation will last until the Spring Festival period," said Deng Yibo, general manager assistant at the Modern Hotel in Harbin. “进入冬季旺季，尤其是哈尔滨冰雪大世界开业后，我们的房间预订一直保持满员状态，这种情况将持续到春节期间，”哈尔滨现代酒店总经理助理邓一波说。"Tourism souvenirs have mostly been sold out, especially hand-drawn postcards. Postcards of various tourist spots are popular; so are candies and chocolates from Russia. The shelves are basically empty," said Meng Fanbo, a staff member at a gift shop in Harbin.哈尔滨一家礼品店的工作人员孟凡波说：“旅游纪念品大多卖完了，尤其是手绘明信片。各种旅游景点的明信片很受欢迎；来自俄罗斯的糖果和巧克力也很受欢迎，货架基本都被扫空了。”Wang Hongxin, head of the bureau of culture, broadcasting, TV and tourism of Harbin, said, "The winter tourism season in Harbin has been so popular that we expect such a 'heat' will last until the end of March."哈尔滨市文化广电旅游局局长王洪新表示，“哈尔滨的冬季旅游旺季非常受欢迎，我们预计这样的‘热度'将持续到3月底。”In January 2023, the China Tourism Academy issued a report on the development of Harbin's ice and snow tourism.2023年1月，中国旅游研究院发布哈尔滨冰雪旅游发展报告。It said that with a high concentration of ice and snow resources in China, Harbin has gone through the primary stage of serving human transportation through ice and snow, and entered the advanced stage of using ice and snow resources to drive urban development.报告显示，哈尔滨已经走过以冰雪运动服务人类交通运输的初级阶段，进入了运用冰雪资源驱动城市发展的高级阶段。In May 2022, Harbin launched a development plan for its ice and snow economy.2022年5月，哈尔滨市启动了冰雪经济发展规划。According to the plan, by 2025, total output value of the city's ice and snow industry should reach 75 billion yuan ($10.5 billion), taking up over a quarter of the province's total in the sector.根据规划，到2025年，全市冰雪产业总产值要达到750亿元（105亿美元），占全省冰雪产业总产值的四分之一以上。By 2030, that should take up over a third of the province's total and surpass 150 billion yuan.到2030年，冰雪产业总值将占全省GDP的三分之一以上，超过1500亿元。Huang Dawei, deputy head of the bureau of culture, broadcasting, TV and tourism of Harbin, said, "Through coordinating the development of four key ice and snow industry clusters — ice and snow sports, ice and snow culture, ice and snow equipment, and ice and snow tourism — Harbin was successfully granted the right to host the 9th Asian Winter Games 2025."哈尔滨市文化广电旅游局副局长黄大伟说：“通过协调冰雪运动、冰雪文化、冰雪装备和冰雪旅游四个重点冰雪产业集群的发展，哈尔滨成功获得了2025年第九届亚洲冬季运动会的主办权。”Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the e-commerce research institute of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "Harbin's ice and snow economy is on the rise, bringing real benefits to the local merchants. To promote the long-term development of the industry, it is suggested that the government offer more favorable policies, such as helping lower merchants' winter operating costs, and providing marketing platforms. Meanwhile, enterprises should offer high-quality goods and services to meet consumer demand against the backdrop of a consumption upgrade."商务部电子商务研究所副研究员洪勇表示：“哈尔滨的冰雪经济正在崛起，给我们本地商家带来了实实在在的好处。要促进行业的长期发展，政府还要提供更多优惠政策，如降低商家冬季运营成本、提供营销平台。同时，在消费升级的背景下，企业应该提供高质量的商品和服务来满足消费者需求。”homestay英 /ˈhəʊm.steɪ/ 美 /ˈhoʊm.steɪ/noun 寄宿，民宿boom英/buːm/ 美 /buːm/noun 蓬勃发展

一、2022年将实施更大力度减税降费|China Will Scale Up Tax and Fee CutsChina will scale up tax and fee cuts next year after reducing an estimated 1 trillion yuan worth of taxes and fees in 2021, the Ministry of Finance said.财政部表示，2021年全年减税降费达1万亿元，而2022年将实施更大力度减税降费。 "We will implement tax and fee cuts at a greater intensity to vitalize market players," the ministry said in a statement on Monday, after concluding a meeting that mapped out priorities for fiscal authorities in 2022.12月27日，全国财政工作会议召开，研究部署2022年重点工作。会后，财政部发布声明称：“明年将实施更大力度减税降费，增强市场主体活力。”The ministry will step up policy support for hard-hit smaller businesses, grant rewards to demonstration areas utilizing inclusive finance, and support a new array of "little giants", or leading small and medium enterprises that specialize in niche sectors, according to the statement.声明称，财务部将加强对中小微企业纾困帮扶，实施普惠金融发展示范区奖补政策，新增支持一批国家级专精特新“小巨人”企业。Efforts will also be strengthened to make good use of local government special bonds, support in-advance infrastructure investments, and improve the structure of income distribution, the statement said.声明称，财务部还会合理安排地方政府专项债券，适度超前开展基础设施投资，优化收入分配结构。二、外资准入负面清单连年缩减|China Shortens Negative Lists for Foreign InvestmentChina on Monday unveiled two shortened negative lists for foreign investment, as part of efforts to further open up the economy and promote high-quality economic development. The two new negative lists will take effect on Jan 1, 2022.为进一步扩大对外开放，推动经济高质量发展，中方12月27日发布两份缩减版外资准入负面清单，自2022年1月1日起施行。This marks the fifth consecutive year that China revised its national negative list and pilot free trade zone (FTZ) negative list.这是我国连续第五年缩减全国和自贸试验区负面清单。 The number of items that are off-limits for foreign investors will be cut to 31 in the 2021 version of the national negative list, from 33 in the 2020 version, according to a statement jointly released by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce. The number of items on the pilot FTZ negative list will be reduced from 30 to 27.据国家发展改革委、商务部联合发布的2021年版负面清单，全国和自贸试验区外资准入负面清单分别由33条、30条缩减至31条、27条。According to the new lists, foreign ownership caps on passenger car manufacturing companies will be removed. All manufacturing sectors will be open to foreign investors in pilot FTZs. Foreign investors' access to the service sector in pilot FTZs will also be widened.根据2021年版负面清单，取消乘用车制造外资股比限制，自贸试验区外资准入负面清单制造业条目清零，同时探索放宽服务业准入。Foreign investment will be allowed in the social survey industry, but ownership by foreign investors should be no more than 33% and the legal representatives should have Chinese nationality.在社会调查领域，允许外商投资社会调查，但要求外商股比不高于33%，法人代表应当具有中国国籍。三、红色旅游'搜索热度大幅增长|China's Red Tourism Gathers SteamRed tourism became an increasingly popular choice for travelers in 2021, data from a recent report showed. The number of searches for "red tourism" on Mafengwo, a Chinese travel service and social-networking platform, increased by 176 percent this year from a year earlier, according to the report jointly published by Mafengwo and China Tourism Academy.近日，旅游服务和社交网络平台马蜂窝与中国旅游研究院共同发布的报告称，2021年，红色旅游成为越来越多人出游的选择。报告指出，马蜂窝上红色旅游搜索热度较上年同期增长176%。 Red tourist destinations in North China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region have grown in popularity at the quickest rate nationwide, with the number of searches surging 240 percent year on year.京津冀红色旅游区的搜索热度增长最高，同比增加240%。Some 41.7 percent of respondents to a survey in the report said they visited red tourist sites more than three times this year, and over 40 percent of them went to such places "frequently" and "voluntarily" for sightseeing and education.参与调查者中，41.7%的游客今年参加红色旅游的次数达到3次以上，40%以上的游客经常、自主选择红色景区参观学习。Red-themed homestay and live shows were the favorite activities of tourists in 2021, with each accounting for nearly 20 percent of all activities in red tourism, according to the report.据报告称，2021年游客最喜爱的红色旅游项目的类型排名第一位和第二位的分别是红色民宿、红色实景演出，这两项在红色旅游项目中的占比均接近20%。四、第23届高交会在深圳开幕|23rd China Hi-Tech Fair Kicks offThe 23rd China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) kicked off both online and offline on Monday in Shenzhen.12月27日，第二十三届中国国际高新技术成果交易会以线上和线下相结合的方式在深圳开幕。The on-site exhibitions cover a total area of 157,000 square meters, and more than 1,900 enterprises at home and abroad are participating in the online exhibition.本届高交会线下展览总面积达15.7万平方米，1900多家国内外企业参加线上展会。 Well-known enterprises, colleges and universities, and organizations like Huawei, ZTE, Shenzhen Salubris Pharmaceuticals, Peking University, and Tsinghua University are showcased at this year's fair.包括华为、中兴、信立泰、北京大学、清华大学等在内的众多知名企业、高校、机构纷纷亮相。A total of 39 countries, including France, Germany, Russia and Argentina are participating either online or on-site, showcasing the latest achievements in the fields of new-generation information technology, high-end manufacturing, smart cities, new energy, and new materials.法国、德国、俄罗斯、阿根廷等39个国家通过线上或线下方式参展，重点展示新一代信息技术、高端制造、智慧城市、新能源、新材料等领域的最新成果。niche英 [niːʃ]；美[niːʃ] n. 市场定位；壁龛；舒适或称心的工作（或生活等）；（产品的）商机；（山体）凹进的地方；生态位off-limits英 [ˌɒf ˈlɪmɪts]；美[ˌɔːf ˈlɪmɪts] adj. 不准进入的；禁止入内的；不许谈论的；禁止探讨的homestay英 ['həʊmˌsteɪ]；美['hoʊmˌsteɪ] n.（为学生或游客提供的）家庭寄宿showcase英 [ˈʃəʊkeɪs]；美[ˈʃoʊkeɪs] n. 玻璃陈列柜；展示（本领、才华或优良品质）的场合；（商店或博物馆等的）玻璃柜台vt. 使展现；在玻璃橱窗陈列

In this episode of China Money Podcast, listen to all the news headlines in the China venture and tech sector for the week of May 20 to May 24, with Eudora Wang sitting in for Nina Xiang in Hong Kong. Topics covered include Chinese online travel service platform Mafengwo secured US$250 million in a new round of financing led by Tencent, innovative drugs developer Allist Pharmaceuticals raised RMB1.18 billion (US$170.75 million) fresh funds, and JD-backed ESR closed a new fund to focus on the development of "large-scale logistics facilities" in Japan. Be sure to subscribe to China Money Podcast for free in the iTunes store, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

In this episode we welcome back Ariel Chen, a top Chinese travel vlogger based in Montreal, Canada. I first had her on the podcast all the way back in episode 4, about a year and a half ago, and man have things changed for her since then! Back then she was still a micro-influencer with less than 200K followers on Weibo but was growing quite rapidly and getting a lot of attention, fast-forward to today and only a year and a half later she has over 1 million Weibo followers, as well as followings on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and many other social media platforms. She is also a top live streaming influencer partnered with Alibaba’s travel platform Fliggy. A former police woman, turned MBA student, turned travel vlogger, Ariel’s story of how she stumbled into the influencer marketing world is quite unique. We don’t go into it too much in this podcast, so if you’re interested in hearing that, check out episode 4 which is linked below. This time we ended up talking for over an hour, so I decided to break our conversation down into two episodes. In this first one we discuss how her career has changed, her decision to hire a team and how that has impacted her business, How she grew her Weibo account so quickly in a time when many are struggling to grow, and some of her other content and growth hacking tips. We also talk about the vlogging trend in China and her suggestions for vlog content. In the next episode we discuss Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Live streaming on Taobao’s travel platform Fliggy, her advice for tourism brands, how to choose high quality KOLs, and much more, so be sure to tune in to part 2! To learn more about influencer marketing in China, sign up for our new newsletter: The China Influencer Update!   Guest: Ariel Chen Email: tripcouture@gmail.com Weibo: @人字拖游记 Xiaohongshu: @人字拖游记 Douyin: @TravelEnglish   Recent speech Ariel gave on China influencer marketing   Host: Lauren Hallanan Website: www.chinainfluencermarketing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-hallanan/ WeChat: H1212118514   Check out my book: Digital China: Working with Bloggers, Influencers and KOLs   ------- Thanks to our sponsors PARKLU: www.parklu.com and The Meet Group www.themeetgroup.com/blog    For additional information and show notes head over to www.chinainfluencermarketing.com If you like this podcast and know someone who might find it interesting, please share!    ------- Additional Notes:  Notes: Chinese vloggers understand the benefit of having a team: Started out with an assistant in China who helped with basic admin tasks and communicating with brands and platforms For content to perform well, every platform needs different thumbnails, titles, descriptions; it takes a lot of time and effort to upload so she freed up a lot of time handing that over to her assistant Hired a full-time videographer and that has improved her output dramatically. The production quality has gone up a ton, to the level where it can compete with video production in the West (which she feels is still ahead of China) Originally videographer was Canadian, but he didn’t understand Chinese taste, harder for him to communicate with other people she worked with Also has many contractors and works with other producers, directors and editors Her main videographer found her and asked to be her videographer, she helps him grow and gives him opportunities to film the things he wants so that he stays satisfied as well. Not all about her.   More than an influencer: Now that she has a team she also works as a creative agency and produces videos for destinations, to be shared on their platforms, but usually she will share it on her platform as well Foreign brands hire her to manage their social presence   Growing her following + content tips: In China, influencers need support from the platform, once the platform recognizes you it is easier to grow Important to understand the rules of platform Capitalize on hot topics – i.e. Australia china travel year, if you create videos about Australia they are more likely to get promoted by the platform Sacrificed earnings in the beginning to focus on creating a personal brand instead of working with every brand that came her way Important to have consistency, really solidify your image Daily uploads of videos or vlogs was a turning point, you stay top of mind for audience and platform Video is key in China right now Mafengwo long articles not as popular anymore Don’t treat Weibo and Chinese platforms like Instagram. A pretty picture alone won’t get noticed. Some travel bloggers focus on detailed guides or smart travel tips. Her audience follows her – wants her experience, impression, see what she does, see her personal growth Difference between US and Chinese vlogging – YouTube vlogs often 8-10 minutes, and China needs to be shorter, within 1-3 minutes  

John Artman, editor in chief from Technode of host of China Tech Talk, joined us in a conversation to discuss three different and interesting stories from China entrepreneurial space and align them in the underlying theme of explaining what numbers and narratives can mean in China. We began with the bike rental startups collapse, followed by the Mafengwo scandal and finally the recent leaked financials from Luckin Coffee into the open. Through the lenses of these three stories, we discuss how we need to understand and adjust our expectations to the future of China's economic growth.

Wang Boyuan is back! This time we're talking about Mafengwo and the curious case of extremely unreliable numbers in China. Not only Mafengwo, but also Alibaba, JD.com, and Dianping are mentioned in the discussion. Guest Wang Boyuan – @thisboyuan Hosts John Artman, @knowsnothing Matthew Brennan, @mbrennanchina

In Ep. 27 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma discuss the latest scandal to come out of Chinese internet -- fake reviews on one of China’s leading travel websites, Mafengwo. Mafengwo had $1.5 billion in sales last year, 63k transactions, and over 100 million monthly active users. It’s already backed by some of the best investors in the business, including Temasek, Hillhouse, General Atlantic and Capital Today, and in August, it was leaked that it was in the middle of raising $300mm at a valuation up to $2.5Bn. It all started when analytics firm Shenzhen Hurui and a Wechat official account known for their exposés of the tech industry published a blog that claimed 85% -- 18mm out of 21 mm -- of Mafengwo’s user reviews were faked or plagiarized from other sites. Outrageously, some of them were so poorly plagiarized that they still retained the origin website’s URL, or in other cases, scripts indicating that the review was translated using an online...

In Ep. 27 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma discuss the latest scandal to come out of Chinese internet -- fake reviews on one of China's leading travel websites, Mafengwo. Mafengwo had $1.5 billion in sales last year, 63k transactions, and over 100 million monthly active users.  It's already backed by some of the best investors in the business, including Temasek, Hillhouse, General Atlantic and Capital Today, and in August, it was leaked that it was in the middle of raising $300mm at a valuation up to $2.5Bn.It all started when analytics firm Shenzhen Hurui and a Wechat official account known for their exposés of the tech industry published a blog that claimed 85%  -- 18mm out of 21 mm -- of Mafengwo's user reviews were faked or plagiarized from other sites. Outrageously, some of them were so poorly plagiarized that they still retained the origin website's URL, or in other cases, scripts indicating that the review was translated using an online translator. Mafengwo immediately denied the accusations and even filed a lawsuit claiming defamation. Our co-host this week is Eva Woo, a former business journalist at SCMP, Bloomberg, and Caixin. Together with Eva, Rui and Ying-Ying unravel the tangle of accusations leveled against Mafengwo and explain why the company has taken such a strong stance against them -- hint: its very business model depends on it.  We also briefly go into why the purported victims from which Mafengwo was alleged to have plagiarized from -- Dianping, Ctrip, et al. -- have made any complaints. Another hint: the entire industry could be guilty of such behavior based on questionable incentives, and plus, there exists an entire shadow paid-poster economy that is thriving with the growing reliance on user-generated content as key building blocks for driving traffic. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join Rui, Ying-Ying and Eva in exploring: How did this exposé come about and why are users so outraged?  What can we learn from the Mafengwo incident and should we be more wary of the numbers coming out of other Chinese companies? What are the responsibilities of investors in such instances, or do they have reasons to be complicit in accommodating such bad behavior?  As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Finally, a huge shoutout to our new listeners over at dealstreetasia.com.  

In Episode 27 of TechBuzz China, co-hosts Ying-Ying Lu and Rui Ma discuss the latest scandal to come out of the Chinese internet — fake reviews on one of China’s leading travel websites, Mafengwo. Mafengwo had $1.5 billion in sales last year, 63k transactions, and over 100 million monthly active users. It’s already backed by some of the best investors in the business, including Temasek, Hillhouse, General Atlantic, and Capital Today, and in August, it was leaked that it was in the middle of raising $300 million at a valuation up to $2.5 billion. A controversy then blew up when analytics firm Shenzhen Hurui and a Wechat official account known for their exposés of the tech industry published a blog post that claimed 85 percent  — 18 out of 21 million — of Mafengwo’s user reviews were faked or plagiarized from other sites. Outrageously, some of them were so poorly plagiarized that they still retained the original website’s URL, or in other cases, scripts indicating that the review was translated using an online translator. Mafengwo immediately denied the accusations and even filed a lawsuit claiming defamation. Our co-host this week is Eva Woo, a former business journalist at SCMP, Bloomberg, and Caixin. Together with Eva, Rui and Ying-Ying unravel the tangle of accusations leveled against Mafengwo and explain why the company has taken such a strong stance against them (hint: its very business model depends on it). We also briefly go into why the purported victims from which Mafengwo was alleged to have plagiarized from — Dianping, Ctrip, et al. — haven’t made any complaints. Another hint: the entire industry could be guilty of such behavior based on questionable incentives, and plus, there exists an entire shadow paid-poster economy that is thriving, with the growing reliance on user-generated content as key building blocks for driving traffic. Listen to the newest episode of TechBuzz China and join Rui, Ying-Ying, and Eva in exploring: How did this exposé come about, and why are users so outraged? What can we learn from the Mafengwo incident and should we be more wary of the numbers coming out of other Chinese companies? What are the responsibilities of investors in such instances, or do they have reasons to be complicit in accommodating such bad behavior?   As always, you can find these stories and more at pandaily.com. Let us know what you think of the show by leaving us an iTunes review, liking our Facebook page, and tweeting at us at @techbuzzchina to win some swag! Finally, a huge shoutout to our new listeners over at dealstreetasia.com.    

This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news. Spring Festival is not only a traditional seven-day holiday when Chinese residents go home for family reunions. It's also a time many people prefer to spend traveling. Ctrip.com International, the largest online travel agency in China, forecasted that around 6 million outbound trips would be taken during this Spring Festival, setting a record for the Golden Week. Meanwhile, Chinese travelers' budgets for trips have been increasing in recent years. The agency says the average spending of Chinese outbound travelers for Spring Festival would exceed 10,000 yuan, roughly 1,500 U.S. dollars, excluding local shopping costs. The main expenses are for air tickets, accommodation, tour guides, transportation, visa fees and insurance. Some self-guided tourists also like to spend a lot on unique experiences, including hot-air balloon rides in New Zealand, opera in London, or whale watching in Hawaii. During the Golden Week, Chinese get into a generous holiday mood. Statistics from Mafengwo.cn found that online bookings per capita for overseas independent trips increased 30 percent to 6,800 yuan this year. The tourism information-sharing website says people used to care about the price, but they focus more on the quality of the trips now. Some more affluent Chinese travelers have even turned to luxury and private tours. This is NEWS Plus Special English. A man wrongfully imprisoned for 23 years in China has been declared innocent for insufficient evidence and has been released from a prison in south China's Hainan province. Fifty-three-year-old Chen Man from Sichuan province in southwestern China was given a two-year suspended death sentence in 1994 for homicide and arson. Chen was freed in Haikou, the provincial capital. He had been held in prison before being sentenced. Chen said after being released that he was happy and could not wait to return home to celebrate Spring Festival with his parents, who are in their 80s. His lawyer, Wang Wanqiong, took up the case in 2013. He says he was excited about Chen's acquittal, adding that it marks progress with the rule of law in China. The lawyer adds that the correction of his client's verdict shows that judicial bodies in the country have changed their ideas about dealing with cases where there is doubt. Officials at Hainan High People's Court bowed and apologized to Chen and told him that he could apply for State compensation. In another development, 27 officials, including police officers, prosecutors and judges, in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region were penalized over the wrongful conviction and execution of a man for rape and murder when he was 18 in 1996. Feng Zhiming, who was in charge of the case against Hugjiltu at the time, is suspected of job-related crimes and has been placed under further investigation. This is NEWS Plus Special English. Beijing police have cracked down on a major fraud ring accused of using E Rent Treasure, an online financial platform, to illegally collect up to 50 billion yuan, roughly 7.6 billion U.S. dollars, in funds. The illegal collection of funds affected 900,000 investors across 31 provinces and regions. Ding Ning, former chairman of Yucheng International Group, the owner of E Rent Treasure, has been arrested on suspicion of fund-raising fraud, illegally acquiring funds and possessing firearms. Twenty other senior managers in the company have also been arrested by national prosecuting departments on suspicion of illegally acquiring funds from investors. In February 2014, Yucheng International Group purchased a Beijing network and technology company. In July, Yucheng changed the company's name to E Rent Treasure, operating it as an online financial company. Yucheng was registered abroad and consisted of eight business operation centers across the country, including in Beijing, Shanghai and Anhui province, that allegedly used fake information and fabricated financing and leasing projects. The group allegedly lured members of the public to invest money, promising returns of 9 percent to 14 percent. Between July 2014 and December last year, Yucheng illegally acquired as much as 50 billion yuan from 900,000 victims. You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Liu Yan in Beijing. （全文见周日微信。）