In a world that boasts many temples of consumerism, this may be the biggest of them all.
With more than 1,000 shops, 230 escalators and a colossal restaurant area, the Golden Resources megamall in west Beijing claims to have more space than any other on the planet.
Once the shopping is done, there are any number of other distractions for China's upwardly mobile middle class.
There will soon be an artificial ski slope, a cinema complex and a spa in the mall, which spreads over 56 hectares -- more than four times the size of the UK's largest shopping center.
The private investors behind the ?2.2 billion (US$4.2 billion) facility aim to capitalize on government plans to transform China into a "well-off" society by 2020 through rapid economic growth, urbanization and an increased focus on consumer spending.
The manager of the New Yansha group, which operates the center, said the gamble on China's urge to splurge would pay off.
"Because the Chinese population is so huge, they need an enormous place like this to shop," Fu Yuehong said.
"Trade hasn't yet met my expectations but I'm confident about the future. Chinese consumers are becoming more and more internationalized. Increasing numbers travel overseas and learn to enjoy shopping in Western-style malls like this," Fu said.
According to government statistics and consumer surveys, her optimism is well placed. After more than 20 years of growth running at more than 9 percent, China has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and pushed a small minority into affluence. Last year, the average annual income of urban dwellers passed the US$1,000 mark.
The rise in disposable income is pushing up retail sales by 13 percent a year. According to a recent survey by the China Marketing and Media Study Group, almost half of the population has a mobile phone, twice the figure of three years ago. The proportion owning computers has risen in the same period from a third to almost half.
In the expectation of an even bigger boom in the years ahead, foreign retailers and credit companies are moving to establish their brands. Prada has opened 10 shops in China and plans to open 20 more by the end of next year. Visa aims to increase the number of its Chinese credit cardholders from 3 million to 51 million by 2008.
But the impressive-sounding statistics and optimistic forecasts contrast with the cavernously empty halls of Golden Resources, which suggest Beijing residents are far from ready to buy into the globalized consumer culture that the shopping center represents.
The center's operator claims that 40,000 people visit on weekdays and more than 80,000 at weekends, but individual shopkeepers complain that they are not seeing anything like that volume.
At the Clarks shoe shop on Friday morning, four assistants stood idle. The day before, they did not get a single customer. Even at the weekend, their best sales figure is a mere ?600.
A large part of the reason is price. In China, the British chain is marketing itself as a quality brand aimed at high earners. Its cheapest pair of shoes costs more than ?64, five to 10 times the price most Beijingers usually pay.
The manager, Zeng Sha, thinks the problem is publicity.
"Business has not been ideal," she admitted. "That is because the flow of customers is too small. Not many people know about this place. They are not used to malls yet."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from