| | World's Largest Shopping Malls
The shopping mall construction boom in China has attracted a good deal of international media attention. Mall watchers have predicted that within two or three years, seven of the ten largest shopping malls in the world will be in China. Typically, Chinese mega-malls are only parts of a much larger residential, office, and entertainment complexes.
An informative discussion of this phenomenon is an article by David Barboz, "China Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale, " Seoul Times, May 25, 2005. Click the title for an on-line version (although it is not certain how long this link will remain live). |
Golden Resources Shopping Mall
Beijing, China
The art-deco Golden Resources Mall, located near the Fourth Ring Road on Beijing's west side, opened to great international fanfare October 24, 2004. At 560,000 square meters (6-million square feet) of total floor space, it was briefly the largest shopping mall in the world. The South China Mall eclipsed it in late 2005.
Two more Chinese malls under construction--the Triple Five Wenzhou Mall and Mall of China (Qingdao), with projected total areas of 930,000 square meters (10-million square feet) each, will be even larger.
| | West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton, Alberta, Canada The West Edmonton Mall, completed in 1985 at a cost of $750-million, remains the largest enclosed shopping mall in North America, but several malls open or under construction in China and the United Arab Emirates are larger.
The mall encompasses 570,000 square meters (5.2-million square feet) of total floor space, 800 stores (including 8 department stores), a 360-room hotel, and 110 restaurants and eating places. Its list of amusement places is also impressively large. There is a full-scale amusement park with 47 different rides, an ocean-wave swimming pool with sand beach, an aquarium, and a miniature golf course. If all that is too much for you, enjoy some peace and meditation in the chapel--so long as a wedding is not in progress. West Edmonton Mall Page
| Aerial view of a portion the West Edmonton Mall, Alberta, Canada, the largest mall in North America.
[West Edmonton Mall photo] |
The Mall of America
Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
The Mall of America, with its 390,000 square meters (4.2-million square feet) of floor space, is the largest shopping mall in the United States, as measured by total space. There are three US malls that have larger gross lease able areas. It was completed in 1992 at a cost of $635-million.
The mall contains about 520 stores on three main levels and has 2.3 miles of primary corridors. The fourth floor is an entertainment district, with restaurants, movie theaters, and night clubs. Occupying the center court is Camp Snoopy, a full-scale amusement park with a roller coaster and 20 other rides. The mall attracts more than 40-million shoppers per year, who spend an estimated $1-billion annually. Mall of America Home Page Mall of America Photographs
Interior view of the Mall of America from the third level. The vaulted roof is reminiscent of European arcades, such as the Galleria in Milan. [ep photo] | | World's Largest Shopping Malls Compared | Shopping Mall | Year
Opened | GLA*
Square feet
(Square meters)
| Total Area Square feet
(Square meters) | Stores | Comments | South China Mall Dongguan, China
| 2005
| 7.1-million
| 9.6-million
| 1,500
| Currently the largest shopping mall in the world, but it will soon be eclipsed by at least two other Chinese malls. | Golden Resources
Shopping Mall
Beijing, China
| 2004
| 6.0-million
(560,000)
| 7.3-million
(680,000) | 1,000+ | On 6 levels, located near the Fourth Ring Road, west of Beijing. | West Edmonton Mall
West Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | 1981 | 3.8-million
(350,000)
| 5.3-million
(570,000)
| 800 | Largest shopping mall in North America; includes indoor wave pool, amusement areas, hotel, restaurants; 20,000 parking spaces. Official site. | Beijing Mall
Beijing, China
| 2005
| 3.4-million
(320,000)
| 4.7-million
(440,000)
| 600 | Has 4 levels of shopping with interior residences; located near Fifth Ring Road, southeast of Beijing.
| Panda Mall
Chengdu, Sichuan, China | | 3.2-million
(300,000) | | | Information on hand is not complete. Official site. | Grandview Mall
Guangzhou, China
| 2005
| 3.2-million
(280,000)
| 4.5-million
(420,000)
| | No details available.
| South Coast Plaza
Costa Mesa, California, USA
| 1967
| 2.7-million
(250,000)
| | 280 | Largest shopping mall in the United States (by gross leaseable area). Official site. | Aricanduva Mall
Sao Paulo, Brazil
| 1991
| 2.6-million
(242,000)
| 3.7-million
(342,000)
| 535
| Largest mall in Brazil; part of a complex of 3 shopping malls with a total area of 11.8-million sq ft.
| Chia Tai Square
Shanghai, Jiangsu, China
| 2005
| 2.6-million
(240,000)
| | | News releases in late 2005 touted it as "Asia's biggest shopping mall," but several other Asian malls appear to be considerably larger.
| Mall of America
Bloomington, Minnesota,
USA
| 1992 | 2.5-million
(230,000)
| 4.2-million
(390,000)
| 520
| Largest shopping mall in the United States (by total area); includes a theme park, entertainment district, and aquarium. Official site. | Oriental Plaza
Foshan, Guangdong, China
| | 2.5-million
(230,000)
| 8.6-million
(800,000)
| | | | Sawgrass Mills Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA | | 2.5-million (230,000) | | 300
| This sprawling, open-air mall, contains mainly discount outlets, along with restaurants, cinemas and other entertainments. Official site.
| | Del Amo Fashion Center
Los Angeles, California, USA
| 1975
| 2.5-million (230,000)
| | 300
| Del Amo straddles several blocks in the city of Torrence, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Official site. | Mall of the Emirates
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
| 2005
| 2.4-million
(225,000)
| | 350 | One complex in a vast entertainment and consumer-oriented district; encloses a 400-meter indoor ski slope.
| Source: American Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University |
