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Largest mall in the world is a Chinese ghost town

by Justin Delaney (RSS feed) on Mar 2nd 2011 at 11:00AM

While China recently announced 45 new airports due to booming travel growth, several of their development projects have been enormous duds. The New South China Mall is twice the size of Minnesota's Mall of America, but hovers at around a 1% occupancy. The rows of empty shops are piped with serene elevator music, and guards police the empty halls with echoing footsteps.

Announced in 2005, the mall is located in Dongguan in the Guangdong province of southern China. The location is between Guangzhou and Shenzen in an area that may one day be considered the world's largest mega city, estimated to have a population near 50 million. Today, the mall has yet to live up to any distinction associated with mega cities, and is a sobering example of what happens when idea implementation precedes growth. Separated into seven districts modeled after international cities, the mall boasts an Arc de Triomphe, Venice canals, and even a mini Egypt. Of the 2,350 leasable store spaces, around 50 are actually in use. Check out this award-winning video directed by Sam Green and Carrie Lozano for PBS that showcases this bizarre mall.

Filed under: Business, Asia, China, Theme Parks

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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 10)

Mary Mar 6th 2011 4:00AM

The problem is that the mall is in the country, and most of the people there make very little money working in factories that make clothing and other things for companies like Wallmart. We couldn't even get a train from there because they were over crowded. I used to work in China and we had an office there, we had a hard time keeping staff because no one wanted to stay in the country. I am really surprised they put a mall there.

Eric Mar 6th 2011 4:05AM

Shit just push the AutoFill button on the mall main computer and you should be good to go!

Carl W. Mar 6th 2011 4:58AM

With the Tibetans I just heard were gunned down fleeing (from those who saw different films of it), I REALLY don't want anything "Made in [Red]China," and wish our legislators would put more import duties on such products. What do we do business with the "Tiannimen (?) Square killers," known for so many other acts of inhumanity, as if these were nothing???

The Mall will be used, rest assured. The population grows out of control. Remember, this IS still "Communist China." people will be forced to move & shop there.

Keith Mar 6th 2011 9:02AM

The only thing they don't have is places in the mall for people to live there.

ed Mar 6th 2011 6:13AM

just put a walmart there,they will come

Jay Mar 6th 2011 6:18AM

The mall is just sitting their empty, with a vacancy of over 95%. That's crazy. You know how you turn it around. You offer a year of free rent until it's at least 50% filled, to any merchant with a viable business plan. They aren't getting rent nor foot traffic now anyways. At least get the foot traffic coming thru and the paying merchants will start to filter in. Maybe even have 1/2 off sales at the food court on the weekend and make the rides free.That will give them 6 month to ride out the storm, while more traffic is directed to the mall. The gov't may also have to offer incentives to travelers and tax breaks to the merchants until it starts to pick up steam. If they did this, they could turn that monstrosity around in 2 years. They'd be in a world of debt, but that thing is too huge to go under and sit their idle. What else could you use it for, unless you convert the inside, into some Pentagon-like government site. Im from NYC and the building owners in that area offered discounted long-term leases and the city tax breaks/credit for people willing to move their businesses near Ground Zero, after 9/11 and it worked. Business 101, people cant look at good deal in the face and refuse, at least the sane ones.

P.S: I wonder what the vacancy rate of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is? That thing is 160 stories high and it opened it's doors at the beginning of a horrible world economy. That's crazy! When the mortgage financing dollars get flowing again and people can spend like mad due to cheap, available credit like water in another 20 years, some real estate developer with a Donald Trump sized ego, will probably go for a 200 story tower (probably in China too).

Andi Mar 6th 2011 6:31AM

What travelers? It sounds like this monstrosity is in the middle of buttf*ck. You heard the video, didn't you? No highway and no airport.

Ginger Mar 6th 2011 6:23AM

I found the story and video very interesting. I don't know that area, but they needed a population that had easy access to the mall. Is it possible to turn some or half of the mall into rental apartments. The concept is good, the population is lacking. They need a draw like a big name star to do a concert once in awhile.

jon Mar 6th 2011 6:39AM

It sounds like the mall we have here in Rhode Island 2 malls within 1/4 mi away one mall is approx 98% full the other has a sears/wallmart anchor stores but in the mall itself has 2 stores 98%vacant the elderly use it for the morning walks during bad weather at least it gets some use

dudeyourarenotme Mar 6th 2011 6:53AM

It took the South Towne Mall in Sandy Utah 4 years to launch too! Now, 15 years later you could never tell it was once a ghost town.

OlderButWiser Mar 6th 2011 6:55AM

One heck of a place to go .. and shop .. just to buy a pair of sox!!

KDC1956 Mar 6th 2011 9:32PM

A huge airport would help it out a lot.Take down all the other airports and that alone would get it going.And listen to the people that works there now.

John F.C. Taylor Mar 6th 2011 7:20AM

Sounds like a great place to film movies without disrupting business.They did it here for the Blues Brothers movie.

fred Mar 6th 2011 7:23AM

This is cool as hell. I am a white American and I think China is a beautiful country with so much history and beautiful architecture. I would love to see China but everybody hates us and that sucks. Our governments hate each other and play stupid games ( mine is bigger than yours) and us regular people suffer. China has been around for thousands of years. We should be learning from this and seeing the history of an amazing country.

Linda Mar 6th 2011 7:34AM

IT IS ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! MY PARENTS OWNED FIVE BURGER KINGS AND LET ME TELL YOU IT IS ALL ABOUT LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. THE GUY WHO BUILT THIS BIG WHITE ELEPHANT CHOSE THE WRONG PLACE TO BUILD THIS MALL. SIMPLE AS THAT. HE WAS TOLD NOT TO BUILD IT WHERE HE DID AND HE DID NOT LISTEN SO NOW HE PAYS THE PRICE FOR THINKING HE KNEW BETTER. HE WAS WRONG!

howwil Mar 6th 2011 7:36AM

Why China would want to promote the building of malls is beyond me. Malls promote driving, and driving promotes the waste of land and the proliferation of cars, neither of which China can afford. Everyone who is not in the business of delivering things for a living ought to be able to live without driving a car every day. Americans have been brainwashed by their surroundings to believe that this is the only way to live, and then when the cost of gasoline goes up they complain. China may have to live America's mistakes to realize how costly malls are to the social fabric.