A Visit to an Abandoned Mall (South China Mall)

A few weeks ago, someone told me that the largest abandoned mall in the world was located in Dongguan, Guangdong, about a 2 hour drive from us. Well, that really interested me because I am familiar with two abandoned malls in Xiamen, and they were very interesting to explore -- and honestly a little creepy. It is no wonder they are referred to as ghost malls. That is not to say there are no businesses in them, but the majority of storefronts are empty, and those that are in use look more like squatters moved in -- stores you would encounter out on the street with little glitz or glamour -- definitely no mall appeal. 

So, I did some research on the mall and found out where it was, saw a few photos, and read some description about it, but most of the info was from 2013 to 2019, nothing recent. Wikipedia has a bit of information as well, but all quite dated. Some of the basic stats are that the mall covers 9,600,000 sq ft with enough space for 2,350 stores. But with the pandemic, what is the likelihood of the mall resurging? Well, actually pretty good it seems.

First off, a few things need to be put into perspective. The claim that the South China Mall is the largest mall in the world (or second largest possibly) needs to be qualified. As far as the number of storefronts and the general shopping area, I didn't see this mall as much bigger than other big malls I have seen in China. But as to the total land area that the mall occupies with the large plaza, it is impressive. But I would say the much of the plaza area appears to be wasted space. 

The next thing we noticed is that the mall (though not fully operational) is far from being a ghost mall. On the ground level, most of the storefronts contain businesses that are operating and have some mall appeal. This was especially true in the food/beverage department with several name brand tea shops, a McDonald's, a Pizza Hut, a KFC, and a Starbucks -- none of them looking dirty or rundown. In addition, there were several modern businesses; I noticed Apple, Huawei, and Adidas. The mall also had a rock climbing wall, a small race track, a roller coaster, an I-Max Theatre, a merry-go-round, and a small basketball court. 

All that said, we visited on a Saturday and there was none of the hustle and bustle one would associate with going to an active mall on the weekend. Yes, there were customers, but none of the businesses were overwhelmed, the foot traffic was light at best, and the general atmosphere was quiet and open. 

Overall, it was an impressive store and provided an interesting experience, but not quite the one I was hoping for. We had allowed for about 4 hours to explore the mall, but left after 2 and enjoyed the rest of our time in Dongguan strolling around a traditional city park.