--- title: Uber Launches Hot Air Balloon Service in China description: Uber is launching a new service in China called Uber+Travel, which lets users in the area request hot air balloon and boat rides. canonical: https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/ author: Lisa Eadicicco article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-28T13:19:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:50:10.865Z article:section: Business og:title: You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now og:description: But only in this country og:url: https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb618879479f62046/698899b5656a3f0cbcbcc138/gettyimages-55765759.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: First Hot Air Balloon Competition In China og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now twitter:description: But only in this country twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb618879479f62046/698899b5656a3f0cbcbcc138/gettyimages-55765759.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Jun 28, 2016 1:19 PM CUT  Residents look at a hot air balloon taking off September 25, 2005 on the outskirt of Beijing, China. Residents look at a hot air balloon taking off September 25, 2005 on the outskirt of Beijing, China.Guang Niu—Getty Images  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Jun 28, 2016 1:19 PM CUT In an effort to become a one-stop-shop for travelers, Uber’s Chinese arm is launching a new service called Uber+Travel, which allows users in the country to request boat rides in addition to hot air balloon excursions. Kate Wang, Uber China’s vice president of operations and regional general manager of central China, [made the announcement](https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/26/uber-positions-its-china-app-as-more-than-a-ride-hailing-service/ "undefined") on stage at TechCrunch Shanghai. The San Francisco-based company is also rolling out a new service in China called UberLife, which is meant to connect users to nearby entertainment and sporting events. “This reminds us that Uber is a global service serving global citizens,” said Wang, according to TechCrunch. “It is rooted in each of the cities.” Uber has [previously experimented](http://time.com/4355543/uber-rickshaw-motorbike-helicopter/ "undefined") with various modes of transportation that cater to different markets around the world, offering boats in Istanbul and helicopters in New York City through partnerships. The expansion could help Uber China compete against local rival [Didi Chuxing](http://time.com/4329135/didi-chuxing-apple-uber-investment-aapl-china/ "undefined"), which claims nearly 90% of the private car-hailing market in China. Apple also invested $1 billion in the company last month. Uber executives have [said](https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/02/uber-well-be-chinas-number-one-taxi-app-within-a-year/ "undefined") they will be able to take on Didi in the future, but the company is [spending](http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/18/uber-losing-1-billion-a-year-in-china.html "undefined") large amounts of cash to compete in China. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/"},"headline":"You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now","datePublished":"2016-06-28T13:19:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:10.865Z","description":"But only in China","url":"https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Uber"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb618879479f62046/698899b5656a3f0cbcbcc138/gettyimages-55765759.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Eadicicco","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-eadicicco/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb618879479f62046/698899b5656a3f0cbcbcc138/gettyimages-55765759.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"First Hot Air Balloon Competition In China","caption":"First Hot Air Balloon Competition In China","creditText":"Guang Niu—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4385199/uber-china-hot-air-balloon/","name":"You Can Get Hot Air Balloon Rides Through Uber Now"}}]}] ```