South China Mall: World’s Largest Mall Rotten | World | news

The South China Mall opened with the hope of attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors daily, but has been dubbed the ghost mall.

Despite boasting an incredible seven million square feet of leasable space over five floors, the up-and-coming South China Mall remains largely empty.

The huge complex opened its doors in 2005, it is estimated that it welcomed more than 100,000 visitors a day, but it was not done yet.

For 10 years, less than 10% of the shopping center was occupied by tenants. In 2011, this figure was reduced to 1% despite the capacity for around 2,350 commercial premises.

The biggest mistake made during construction was the choice of location. Developed on former farmland in Wanjiang District, 54 miles from Dongguan city center, there are no direct transport links.

The surrounding area is also largely home to lower-wage migrant workers, meaning the high-priced offerings at the mall were out of the locals’ budgets.

The initiator of the project was billionaire Hu Guirong, known for revolutionizing the instant noodle industry. Dongguan was his hometown that he planned to improve, so he decided to build a huge shopping mall.

According to the New York Times, the mall cost about $1.3 billion to build.

The design is organized into seven zones, each representing a city, country or region, such as Amsterdam, Venice, Paris, Rome, Egypt, California and the Caribbean.

Designers spent two years scouting locations for these areas around the world, and large parking lots were built in anticipation of large numbers of drivers.

Although its complex structure is being built like a city with long arcades that serve as main thoroughfares, individual buildings that serve as neighborhoods, and large open spaces that resemble parks, the mall is now mostly ground floor.

Some businesses, mainly fast-food restaurants that cater to families visiting the amusement park and the IMAX theater adjacent to the mall, remain open.

Rejuvenation has taken place and instead of leasing space to high-priced stores, the mall is leasing space to more affordable businesses to attract the local market.