[Broadjumper]

Dongguan, China, is a factory town with an estimated population of 10 million, many of whom are migrant workers from other parts of the country. But even a community that large, it seems, is unable to support a 5 million-sq.-ft. shopping center.

More than twice the size of the U.S.’s Mall of America, New South China Mall in Guangdong province is easily recognized as the world’s largest mall. Opened in 2005, the behemoth property was expected to attract an upwards of 100,000 visitors a day, CNN reports, and it has space for 2,350 tenants. It boasts an indoor amusement park with a roller coaster, an IMAX theater and a Teletubbies Edutainment Center for children. Initially called the South China New Mall, the property was relaunched in 2007 as the New South China Mall, Living City, in hopes of attracting customers.

Unfortunately, the mall is anything but living: eight years after it first opened, most of its storefronts remain unoccupied, a desolate monument to Chinese real estate ambitions and the stimulus credit boom that followed the financial crisis. It also sits on the outskirts of town, making it difficult to access, according to the BBC.

Victor Teo, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong, told CNN that the mall project is indicative of a greater trend in China. “To me, many of these projects are a result of easy access to capital and a combination of wishful thinking and speculative behavior rather than rational business decisions,” he said.

As Teo notes, ghost towns are increasingly common in China. Some speculate the nation’s housing bubble has been on the brink of bursting for years. As the BBC reports, unfinished development projects like amusement parks, apartment complexes and even entire cities are stalled throughout the country.

Mall officials are taking another stab at reviving the mammoth shopping center. Ye Jining, the head of New South China Mall’s investment unit, told CNN that the mall has a 20% occupancy rate, though he declined to comment when challenged on the statistic. He also said they aimed to increase occupancy to 80% by the end of 2013 — a big challenge for the world’s biggest ghost mall.

[Sick Psycho]

I'd so hang out there!! Play Hide and Seek only to find out that the hidden ones have been abducted by the Yakuza.

[Shakey]

Perhaps if those suckers didn't loan all their money to the U.S. they would have a better economy.

[Kelseecat65]

Teletubbies Edutainment Center for children

[flangemanager]

Originally Posted by Sick Psycho ↗

I'd so hang out there!! Play Hide and Seek only to find out that the hidden ones have been abducted by the Yakuza.

It's in China, so unlikely to be many Yakuza hanging around, especially those with an interest in hide and seek
Would be a great place to explore though.

[Faline]

Would be cool to check out.

[Broadjumper]

Originally Posted by flangemanager ↗

It's in China, so unlikely to be many Yakuza hanging around, especially those with an interest in hide and seek
Would be a great place to explore though.

Yakuza = Japan

Triad = China

[Broadjumper]

Originally Posted by Shakey ↗

Perhaps if those suckers didn't loan all their money to the U.S. they would have a better economy.

That's kind of an ironical statement considering that China's GDP has averaged a 9.7% increase since '98 compared to our 2.4%. The problem isn't the US debt that they own, that at least earns a return through interest payments, the real problem is their economy got so red hot that they threw money at almost any opportunity due to lax monetary policies (sounds familiar) and many of them (like what happened here) were poorly conceived and are turning into massive financial boondoggles.

[bob351]

West edmonton mall is bigger, so second biggest mall.

[bob351]

Never mind.