New south china mall
The New South China Mall!
The New South China Mall is a massive shopping mall located in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China. It was opened in 2005 and was initially touted as the largest shopping mall in the world, with a gross floor area of over 5.7 million square feet (530,000 square meters).
However, the mall's grand opening was met with disappointment and criticism. Despite its massive size, the mall was largely empty, with many stores and restaurants unoccupied. The mall's design was also criticized for being overly ambitious and impractical, with many shops and restaurants located in remote areas of the mall, making it difficult for customers to navigate.
Over the years, the mall has struggled to attract customers and has become a symbol of China's over-reliance on government-backed infrastructure projects and the challenges of developing large-scale retail spaces in China.
Some interesting facts about the New South China Mall:
- The mall was built at a cost of over $1.5 billion, making it one of the most expensive shopping malls in the world.
- The mall has over 6,000 stores, but many of them are unoccupied or operate at a loss.
- The mall has a total of 12,000 parking spaces, but many of them are often empty.
- The mall has a unique design, with a large indoor lake, a Ferris wheel, and a roller coaster.
- The mall has been the subject of several documentaries and articles, including a 2013 article in The New York Times titled "The World's Largest Mall, Empty and forlorn".
Despite its struggles, the New South China Mall remains a popular tourist destination and a symbol of China's economic ambitions.