What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a mall in China? “Overcrowded”, “Too cheap”, “Full of duplicate products”? What if I say it is the world’s largest mall? Your thoughts may have just surpassed your previous views. But if I say all your thoughts are “over exaggerated”, I wouldn’t be wrong. The world’s largest mall, New South China Mall, located in the world’s most populous country, is practically devoid of footfalls. Its occupancy rate: less than 1 percent. Shocked! Don’t be. Take a look at the pictures below and see for yourself the creepier original of Arkham Asylum, situated in Dongguan city of Guangdong province in China. Dongguan has a population of 10 million and if you are wondering why this mall with 892,000 square metres of leasable space, room for more than 2,000 shops is empty, it is because of two business lessons its builder ignored: Never build a glitzy mall in a city of working class people, and never build it miles away from the population itself. Oh yes! China is not all crammed up by teeming hordes of people; it has its desolate areas.
Credit: Vagabond. See more images here. Also check out the official website of the mall, you’d not be surprised.
