With the addition of Core Pacific City (京華城) shopping mall, Taipei
now boasts two mega-malls where young and old alike can indulge their
wildest consumer fantasies.
Never mind the fact that the mall has been dogged since its opening by
the Taipei City Government, which has called on the management to halt
business because the 11th and 12th floors failed fire safety inspections
and the mall has been open without a business operating license. The
mall's management, not daring to spoil the fun for Taipei's shopping-mad
citizens, have simply paid the paltry NT$30,000 fine levied for running
a business without an operating license and kept floors B3 to 10 open.
Juan Hsin-nang (阮信囊), spokesman for Core Pacific Group, was quoted
last week after the soft opening as saying: “We don't want to
disappoint our customers.” Up to 100,000 people rewarded Core Pacific's
defiance of safety norms each day last weekend by swarming the place to
take advantage of price-slashing opening sales.
Putting aside its initial problems for a moment, it must be stated that
the mall is an impressive piece of work. Fifteen floors — minus two for
the time being — are stuffed with over 900 retailers, restaurants and
entertainment facilities. You get an immediate impression of the size of
the complex when entering at the Civic Boulevard entrance at the base of
the six-story rendering of Core Pacific Group's spherical corporate
logo. Once inside you see the back of the sphere, and down three floors
to the food court. Looking up is a dizzying sci-fi-like network of
escalators that criss-cross their way in and out of the sphere.
As with most shopping centers, the emphasis at Core Pacific City is on
fashion and accessories, with a heavy tilt toward women's products. But
the sheer size of place — three times larger than the recently opened
Breeze Center — and the range of retailers selling everything from the
stodgy to the scandalous basically guarantees that you'll find what
you're looking for.
There are also a Watson's, Eslite Bookstore and a Wellcome supermarket
and tomorrow night the entertainment aspect of the mall will kick into
high gear with a rave starring DJ Adam Freeland at the Plush lounge bar
and club on the 12th floor. If the party goes forward, it will be
because the 12th floor has passed its fire safety inspections and the
roof hasn't caved in, as a chunk did on the B1 level on Tuesday morning.
Core Pacific City is located at 138 Pateh Rd., Sec. 4, Taipei (臺北市八
德路4段138號).
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