Disruptors
Those who traverse cycles understand the weight of time.
Wang Xing
“The essence of business is to create value, not to eliminate opponents.”
Selling oneself on Xiaonei.com, shutting down Fanfou, thousands of group wars, huge losses in community group buying... In 2025, Meituan will have a net loss of 23.4 billion. Wang Xing spent 20 years proving: Entrepreneurs should be like Tang Monks. They should cry and beg, but never say break up. In March 2012, Wang Xing wrote on Weibo: "If a few years ago I was the Sun Wukong who was unconquered and at a loss what to do, today I have become Tang Monk who has not changed in seventy-two ways and has only one persistent thought." At that time, Fanfou had just shut down, and Meituan was deeply involved in the fierce competition of the Thousand Regiments War. Fourteen years later, Meituan’s market value was once approximately HK$400 billion, and its food delivery market share has stabilized at more than 60%. However, competition in the industry continues to intensify, and companies will suffer large losses again in 2025. After several ups and downs, this entrepreneur is still walking on the road ahead, like the Tang monk traveling west to seek Buddhist scriptures, never stopping. 1. Lessons Learned: From Xiaonei.com to Fanfou In 2005, Wang Xing founded Xiaonei.com. After the product was launched, it quickly gained a large number of users and became a representative of early domestic social platforms. Due to financial constraints, it was difficult for the project to continue to expand, and Xiaonei Network was eventually forced to be sold. The first entrepreneurial attempt ended with asset delivery. In 2007, he set out again and launched the Fanfou platform. This product took the lead in exploring short-content social forms and kicked off the development of the domestic Weibo track. The industry environment and external changes have brought multiple impacts. In 2009, Fanfou ceased operations. After two consecutive entrepreneurial projects came to an end, the outside world regarded Wang Xing, who had experienced consecutive project failures, as a loser among serial entrepreneurs. Several setbacks did not change his
Wang Xing
ACF Cover Figure · Business Maverick | Wang Xing: Tang Seng Has No Seventy-Two Transformations — Only One Unwavering Conviction
ACF · Business Maverick
Issue No. 021 — ACF-NXZ-2026
[Summary] Selling Xiaonei, shutting down Fanfou, the Groupon War, community group-buying losses... In 2025, Meituan lost 23.4 billion RMB. Wang Xing spent 20 years proving: an entrepreneur must be like Tang Seng — cried, begged, but never once suggested disbanding.
In March 2012, Wang Xing wrote on Weibo: "If the me of years ago was an unbroken yet directionless Sun Wukong, today I have become Tang Seng — without seventy-two transformations, left with only one unwavering conviction."
At that time, Fanfou had just shut down and Meituan was mired in fierce competition from the "Thousand Groupons War." Fourteen years later, Meituan's market cap briefly reached approximately 400 billion HKD, with food delivery market share stably above 60%. But industry competition continues to intensify — in 2025, the company posted another major loss.
Through multiple rises and falls, this entrepreneur continues walking forward — like Tang Seng on the journey west, never stopping.
I. Scripture-Seeking: From Xiaonei to Fanfou
In 2005, Wang Xing founded Xiaonei (Campus Network). The product rapidly attracted massive users after launch, becoming a representative early Chinese social platform. Limited by funding constraints, the project couldn't sustain expansion and was ultimately forced to sell. His first entrepreneurial attempt ended with an asset transfer.
In 2007, he set out again, launching Fanfou — a platform that pioneered short-content social format in China, opening the microblogging track. Due to industry environment and external changes, Fanfou ceased operations in 2009. Two consecutive startup closures led outsiders to view Wang Xing as a serial failure among serial entrepreneurs.
Multiple setbacks didn't alter his direction. All past experience became accumulation for future ventures. Wang Xing held clear thinking about entrepreneurship's essence and long-term development.
"The purpose of a finite game is to end the game; the purpose of an infinite game is to keep the game going."
He's not a natural genius — he's a stubborn grinder. What others see as failure, he sees as experience.
II. Crossing Tribulations: The Thousand Groupons War and Meituan's Breakthrough
In 2010, Wang Xing formally founded Meituan, entering the local life group-buying track. After the industry trend arrived, over 5,000 group-buying platforms emerged across China. The "Thousand Groupons War" began. Massive capital flooded in, with most players burning money at any cost to chase scale.
Facing the frenzied market atmosphere, Meituan maintained stable operational rhythm. The team didn't blindly follow the burn-and-expand approach. Instead, they focused on optimizing operations, improving service capability, and strictly controlling costs — relying on a steady business model to weather industry chaos.
In fierce competition, Meituan gradually widened the gap with peers and secured a dominant market position. On September 20, 2018, Meituan listed on HKEX with a market cap of approximately 400 billion HKD. Today, its business spans food delivery, restaurant dining, hotels and travel, mobility, retail, and more — growing into a core enterprise in China's local life services sector.
Others pursue scale; he pursues health. The sole survivor of the Thousand Groupons War.
III. Entering the Storm: Community Group-Buying's Hundred-Billion Loss
In the second half of 2020, the community group-buying track surged. Meituan launched Meituan Select (Meituan Youxuan), designating it as a tier-one strategic priority. In Wang Xing's view, this was a rare opportunity in industry development.
"Community group-buying is a quality opportunity that comes once every five or ten years."
The company concentrated resources into the new track, and market competition rapidly intensified. In 2021, Meituan's full-year net loss reached 23.536 billion RMB, with new business operating losses — including community group-buying — hitting 38.393 billion. Previously, the team had estimated new business losses at approximately 27 billion for the year. As industry regulation tightened and platforms removed ultra-cheap promotional activities, the track's wild growth phase ended.
From 2022, Meituan began comprehensive contraction of community group-buying, optimizing personnel structure, cutting operational costs, and streamlining regional deployment to reduce expenses and improve efficiency, gradually digesting the pressure from massive early-stage investment. The decision to enter the emerging track cost the enterprise a hundred-billion-level financial price.
To seize the trend, he paid a hundred-billion price. Some tribulations must be crossed.
IV. Crossing Tribulations Again: 2025 — Another 23.4 Billion Loss
In 2025, Meituan's total revenue reached 364.9 billion RMB, up 8.1% YoY, with core business maintaining steady growth. But affected by industry conditions, the company swung from profit to loss, posting a full-year net loss of 23.4 billion and operating loss of 17 billion.
The core cause was homogeneous competition in instant retail. Track competition intensified, with platforms continuously increasing subsidies, compressing profit margins. Even so, Meituan's food delivery maintained a solid base, with market share above 60%.
Beyond core business, frontier segments continued receiving investment. The drone delivery operation, after nine years of cultivation, saw technology and operations mature, with annual commercial orders exceeding 900,000 — gradually moving from R&D to practical application.
Over the years, Meituan has maintained its pace of expansion and investment — deploying new businesses in good times, never stopping exploration even in difficult times.
Profitable years, he expands. Loss-making years, he still expands. A maverick doesn't sprint in favorable conditions — he persists through adversity.
V. Cultivation: Tang Seng Is Still on the Road
Wang Xing has always upheld the philosophy of infinite games. In his understanding, entrepreneurship is not a contest pursuing short-term victory or defeat, but a long journey that must be continuously sustained. Looking back at twenty-plus years of entrepreneurship, multiple large-scale losses, project shutdowns, and industry upheavals have never stopped him.
The outside world keeps asking: what is the "true scripture" Wang Xing and his team are seeking through all these trials? Is it a successful IPO? Single-business profitability? Maintaining market share? The 23.4 billion loss in 2025 offers a different answer. This loss was not about competing for short-term market advantage or winning a finite game — it was the phased cost the company bore for long-term survival and continued participation in industry development.
Looking ahead, Meituan's 2026 strategy focuses on AI technology and overseas expansion. Its overseas business Keeta is accelerating deployment, entering the Middle East, Brazil, and other regions. In AI, the team has defined a clear direction: not building consumer-facing general models, but focusing on using AI to empower existing business scenarios.
Reflecting on his original aspiration, Wang Xing has always believed entrepreneurship is the means to change the real world.
"Tang Seng had no special abilities. Facing 81 tribulations, he cried, he begged — but he never once said 'Let's give up on the scriptures, everyone go home.'"
"Entrepreneurship is my way of changing the world. I want to live in a better world — but I can't wait for others to build it."
His goal was never victory in any single battle, but keeping the enterprise and mission running long-term — building industrial infrastructure that can traverse business cycles, fulfilling the original vision of transforming industries and serving the public.
Tang Seng had no seventy-two transformations — but he reached the Western Heaven. Meituan is still crossing tribulations. Wang Xing is still on the road. He's not trying to win a race — he's keeping the race going.
Follow
Scan to follow for more stories
Cover ArchiveArchive
View archive file →Every cover publication is registered and kept in the ACF Cover Archive. The code is permanent.
Not Everyone Makes the Cover
Asia Cover Figure · Influencing Those Who Influence