Ctrip.com Buys Sozhen.com To Expand Chinese Internet Travel Business

Chinese online tourism website Ctrip.com has reportedly acquired Sozhen.com, a website focusing on ancient Chinese town travel.

According to reports in local media, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Employees of Sozhen.com are quoted as saying the website will show some difference in the future, but it will not sell hotel rooms like Ctrip.com. Instead, it will still focus on the lower priced sales of rooms in village inns.

For Ctrip.com, the acquisition will add a low-end hotel business to Ctrip.com’s product line to meet the various needs from Ctrip members. On the other hand, Sozhen.com has a great number of loyal users, and also maintains good partnerships with ancient Chinese towns’ tourist attractions.

Sozhen.com was established in August 2005 and was one of the first and one of the most authoritative ancient town websites in China. In 2007 Sozhen.com started its inn reservation business aiming to be the first inn brand with chains in ancient towns.