According to Pacific Epoch's general manager, Sage Brennan, the latest inside news on the venture front, is that Dianping.com (think "Zagat's of China") recently brought in $10 million in venture capital from Sequoia Capital and IDG, reportedly at a $20 million pre-money valuation. Sequoia also plans to invest $12 million into 51.com, in two rounds of financing before October. In Chinese, "51" sounds similar to "I want," an achingly romantic sentiment for an online dating site, no?

Pang Shengdong, founder of the Web site 51.com, revealed in a
New York Times article, that most of his three million young users create their own Web pages in quest of a social life.

Apparently, China's modest singles gravitate to the website's blogs and social networking tools. They upload over 50,000 photos per day in an effort to find their genuine soul mates. Sequoia's energetic Neil Shen reportedly will have a seat on the company's board.