The popular American taxi-ridesharing company Uber is heading to Beijing in the company’s first foray into the Chinese mainland. The company has already been introduced in Hong Kong and is set to hit Seoul as well.

The service is accessible through an app and users just need to send a taxi request code. The company has shuttle stations set up and they use GPS to track your location and find you. You can also arrange rideshares through the app to save money.

The company will be using Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz car models. However, it doesn’t come cheap: with a base rate of 18 RMB, a 30 RMB minimum and additional rates of 0.7 RMB per minute and 3.85 RMB per kilometer, using the Uber service works out to be at least twice the cost of a normal taxi.

Uber was founded as UberCab by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in 2009. Uber service was officially launched in San Francisco in June 2010, with Ryan Graves becoming CEO in August of that year. Ryan Graves later stepped down from his role, and Travis Kalanick was made the CEO. Ryan is currently the VP of Operations and a board member. Uber's mobile app launched in 2010 in San Francisco, on iPhones, Android phones. The company received venture funding in late 2010 from a group of super angel investors in Silicon Valley, California, including Chris Sacca.

On June 6, 2014, Uber announced $1.2 billion in funding in its latest round. The round values Uber at around $17 billion pre-money.