Largest mall in the world is a Chinese ghost town
Posted Mar 2nd 2011 11:00AM by Justin Delaney
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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.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 10)
jennifer stewart Mar 6th 2011 12:14AM
hey haven't visited in awhile till my mum told me about it this is one reason why china she told me will never ever advance they think too grandly of themselves and try too copy americans instead of doing their own thing it set's a vile president when people try too out do each other i heard it's less than one percent occupancy chang woo but you know what a mall is irrelevant too their plight less than one percent of their land is erriable for crop's and food management she also told me china has a desparity between male's and female's so all in all china is faltering under it's own ineptitude we have harrod's in london that is a nice shopping mall bye
brian Mar 6th 2011 4:20AM
never advance you say???????????/ im gurssing you have never been there i was in changsha for one month and saw as much infulstructure built in that time than the seattle area does in a year that country is state of the art
Dayna Mar 6th 2011 6:51AM
@Jennifer Stewart....your mother is ill informed and stupid. Have a nice day.
Patrick Mar 6th 2011 7:16AM
Jenn, you're either a dropout, a grade schooler, or the product of a politically correct education that hasn't taught you a thing about writing. Don't expect to be taken seriously if you can't handle simple grammar.
JustJakes Mar 6th 2011 7:19AM
@Bryan
All that infrastructure built in a month, huh? How much of it is structurally sound? How much of it will be collapsing and killing hundreds of people in a few years?
calabaza00 Mar 6th 2011 8:07AM
Oh Jennifer, your comment sets a "vile president" (tee hee) for the gross misuse of the apostrophe...
No Quarter Mar 6th 2011 9:20AM
Good God! The little portion I read within this comment made my head hurt.
Why would someone make an attempt at using words they would make the readers think they are scholars when it only highlights the bad grammar and punctuation?
PS: I wouldn't quote Mum either!
makki Mar 6th 2011 10:31AM
It's really difficult to read a post that is so full of bad spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It sounds like your mom was dictating the post to an inept secretary. You'll need a dictionary next time, if you want to be taken seriously.
Bill Mar 6th 2011 10:49AM
This is what happens when you spend your time texting. Good grammar, spelling and punctuation are tossed aside. As a reader, you first have to decode the statement and then try to decipher the meaning. I spend a lot of time reading various posts on many subjects and am embarrassed over the misuse of know/no...your/you're...then/than and a few others. If you can't take the time to proofread your comments then no one is ever going to take your remarks seriously. Its a sad statement for our educational system.
Bonnie Mar 6th 2011 11:00AM
A brain is a wonderful thing to have Jennifer, you might try putting yours to use. You'll be amazed at the things you can accomplish. For example, good grammar.
Matt Mar 6th 2011 11:32AM
@Bill
Let's not forget about the constant misuse of its/it's..... Just sayin' ;)
Erica Mar 6th 2011 11:43AM
Excuse me Bill, but I am a heavy texter, however, I still have the common sense to use proper grammar, spellling, and punctuation. Blaming the school system and texting is an extremely asinine stereotype. Maybe you should blame the people who are too busy going to parties and getting wasted and stoned. Don't blame the people like me, who actually have a brain, just becuase they text. Also, I am too ebarrased over the improper use of know/no, your/you're, and its/it's and do agree people should proof read their own work. Therefore, I must inform you that its is possesive, it's is a contraction of it and is, which is what wuld have been proper in your situation. Thank you.
Nancy Bourgeois Mar 6th 2011 11:50AM
I truly believe you are writing in this uneducated way on purpose, Jennifer. You are probably some lonesome little person with nothing better to do. Atrocious writing aside learn your facts before you comment on any subject.
Al Schrader Mar 6th 2011 11:54AM
Malls here in the US or Fashion Malls are great, but will have the same fate.
7 out of 10 Americans are over weight (fat). 4 of those 7 are obese - weigh three hundred something or more. These people will never visit a Fashion Mall. I'm sorry, they are great fun loving people, but the Fashion Mall ?, uh, uh, no way.
I'm an actor.When I'm around people, I listen to what they say, how they talk & think. If you mention Wal-Mart to these three something people they say "Wal-Mart" with an angelic tone of voice like the place is built on Holy Ground. At first this was a mystery to me. It's just a store. So while shopping there, I started paying attention to how these 300 something people acted there. It's simple. Many of the items in Wal Mart are "Sam's" sized. Two gallon sized pickle jars, 28 ounce big-box cornflakes, 10 pound bags of chicken, 5 pound packs of hamburger meat,
15 pound hams, 32-pack hotdogs, etc. Hey, I need a snack !!!....Alfie-
ihazalatte Mar 6th 2011 12:01PM
It's 'precedent' not president. Look them up they have entirely different meanings. I'm sure you can find a dictionary on your iPhone.
The rest, including the article, is irrelevant.
Bill Mar 6th 2011 3:41PM
Erica says:
Mar 6th 2011 11:43AM
Excuse me Bill, but I am a heavy texter, however, I still have the common sense to use proper grammar, spellling, and punctuation. Blaming the school system and texting is an extremely asinine stereotype. Maybe you should blame the people who are too busy going to parties and getting wasted and stoned. Don't blame the people like me, who actually have a brain, just becuase they text. Also, I am too ebarrased over the improper use of know/no, your/you're, and its/it's and do agree people should proof read their own work. Therefore, I must inform you that its is possesive, it's is a contraction of it and is, which is what wuld have been proper in your situation.
Well Erica....maybe you should have spent more time proofreading and less time criticizing. You misspelled 'embarassed' and the last time I checked, 'wuld' had an "o" in it. I imagine you might have been the ignorant lady in front of me on the expressway the other day...texting as she drove, oblivious of the traffic around her and of the speed limit. People, like you, that brag of having a brain, probably aren't a product of a bad school system. It's more than likely your rude comments were a product of extremely bad parenting over an extremely long period of time. Also....'proofread' is one word, not two, as you have it.
Bill Mar 6th 2011 3:51PM
Matt....regarding its/it's.....it's not bad grammar....just bad typing skills.
Kevin Mar 6th 2011 4:03PM
You sound kind of stupid.
Bill Mar 6th 2011 4:31PM
Kevin says:
Mar 6th 2011 4:03PM
"You sound kind of stupid."
Wow.....I bow to the literary genius named Kevin. How long did it take to gather your thoughts for this comment? I'll bet you struggled with the last word...'stupid'....it has more than one syllable....but you did get all of the correct punctuation. Kevin....does you mom know that you're fooling around on the computer again?
frank Mar 6th 2011 6:44PM
Is Jethro Bodine your cousin?......You dun gadiated the fifth grade.