The Great Malls of China

China home to several large malls, some even bigger than those in U.S.A. Mall mania is at its peak in China, with many malls being built all over the nation like The Grand Gateway and Plaza 66 in Shanghai, Hundred years City in Dalian and South China Mall in Dongguan, to name a few.

A few years ago, there were only a handful of malls in China, while recent figures indicate that there are more than 400 malls. Famous stores such as Macys, Papa Johns Pizza, Chanel and Ralph Lauren are found in these malls. Several billion dollars are being spent by developers in China to fuel the mall mania by developing giant shopping malls in the fast-growing nation. In the last decade, there has been an increase in the disposable income of the people, which in turn has led to an increase in retail sales by around 50% in the last few years. This has been one of the main reasons for the mall mania.

According to estimates, 8 out of 10 of the worlds largest shopping malls will be located in China. There are 4 shopping malls in China that are larger than the huge Mall of America in Minnesota. The Mall of America, spread over 4 million square feet, is the largest mall in U.S.A. Of the 4 malls mentioned above, 2 are larger than Canadas West Edmonton Mall, which was the biggest mall in the world till the Golden Resources Shopping Mall in Beijing, China, was constructed. The West Edmonton Mall occupies an area of 297000 square metres.

The title of the largest mall in the world was previously held by the Golden Resources Shopping Mall in Beijing. The mammoth mall occupies around 6 million square feet and was built over a period of 20 months. This mall is so huge that it is supposed to be visible from space. Every imaginable product can be found in this mall ranging from grandfather clocks and bathroom sinks to diapers and violins. It has 230 escalators and over 1000 shops. It has 20000 employees working in it. This mall is even bigger than Pentagon, which is the worlds largest office building. It is located in the centre of a giant scheme consisting of several houses, offices, hotels and schools. The mall is owned by three different corporate groups.

The South China Mall in the city of Dongguan at present holds the title of the largest mall in the world. It occupies an area of about 700000 square metres. It has adopted themes from Hollywood and Paris. It even includes an 85-foot replica of the Arc de Triomphe of Paris and an artificial river. It includes theme parks, fountains, bridges, windmills, shops and hotels. The entire project costed 400 million dollars.

The 279,000-square-metre Grandview Mall in Guangzhou city claims to have the world's highest indoor fountain.

The Triple Five Group that owns the famous Mall of America as well as the West Edmonton Mall is planning to come up with 3 mega malls in China. Of these, 2 are estimated to occupy a space of 930000 square metres, namely the Mall of China and the Triple Five Wenzhou Mall.

In spite of the mall mania in China, there are very few actual buyers in these malls. Most of the stores in these malls are making a loss or breaking even with great difficulty. According to most consumers, the products sold in these malls are very highly priced and hence, out of reach. As per experts, it is true that the disposable income of the Chinese people is rising, but the rate of this increase is lesser than the rate at which these malls are coming up. However, mall developers state that they foresee a good future for malls in China.

In the meantime, the mall mania continues.