An Iconic Asian Country Is Home To The Largest Shopping Mall In The Entire World

At one time, shopping malls were the place to be if you wanted to get the latest fashions or just spend time with your friends and family. And while malls are still somewhat popular today, the most successful ones have transformed themselves into massive entertainment centers with luxury stores, cinemas, and even theme parks, like Thailand's award-winning IconSiam, the country's largest shopping experience. But strangely enough, even though there are many impressive malls across the globe, one of the largest malls in the world is also considered a business cautionary tale.

Among the largest malls (in terms of leasable store space) in the world is, in fact, New South China Mall in Dongguan, China. There are several other excellent malls in the country, but New South China Mall boasts nearly 6.5 million square feet of retail space, enough for approximately 2,300 stores. The project for its construction was led by Dongguan native Alex Hu, a billionaire who owns a successful instant noodle company and hoped the mall would make Dongguan a more attractive destination. The industrial city is between two other major cities, Guangzhou and Shenzen, and is about an hour (via high-speed train) from Hong Kong, where you can find the best airport in Asia. For most of its time being open, the New South China Mall has been largely empty. While the space has been renovated several times and is at least somewhat successful in terms of getting stores to lease space, the mall hasn't quite lived up to its initial hype for several reasons.

The lack of occupancy caused the New South China Mall to receive the moniker "ghost mall." It was quite an ambitious project when it first started in the early 2000s. Originally, the New South China Mall had seven themed shopping zones, each modeled after places around the world, including Paris, Egypt, and Venice (complete with canals and gondola rides). It has retained some of these themes, but after the mall failed to attract companies who would lease space, renovation projects were carried out in 2007, 2015, and again in 2019. In 2013, the occupancy rate was said to be between 1% and 10%. Renovations continued, included the addition of an IMAX theater and a go-karting track. Since 2023, there have been reports that claim occupancy rose to 91%, but a 2024 video by YouTube creator @Nicofilms shows that those reports might be overstating how well the mall is doing. Still, from the video, there are parts of the mall that are thriving, especially on the ground floor.

The New South China Mall remained empty for so long largely because of its location. The mall itself is just outside of Dongguan, far from public transit, and the city itself is mostly home to low-income workers who probably don't go shopping for luxury items. Since its opening, the New South China Mall was bought by another business group, and decisions were made to offer more budget-friendly stores and experiences to shoppers. People still visit the mall; however, there are more popular things to do in Dongguan, such as visiting the Opium War Museum or walking around the local parks. No matter where you go during your trip to China, be sure to check out our guide on the "three Ts" tourists shouldn't bring up while in the country.