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Explore the New South China Mall in Dongguan with Nico, who finds that the complex is not entirely empty. Shops and businesses fill parts of the ground floor, while many upper-level spaces remain vacant. The mall was built around a plan to attract 100,000 visitors each day, but that target was not met. A billionaire instant-noodle tycoon invested more than a billion dollars in the project. Nico tries local food, including youtiao, visits the closed theme park and reflects on how the mall subdivided large areas for smaller shops and online sellers. The account also considers whether market research and a more realistic target could have changed the outcome.
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Walking through the mall
Nico travels to Dongguan to explore the New South China Mall, known as a ghost mall. The ground floor is active, with shops and businesses, but many upper floors have empty spaces. The contrast is clear as he walks through different areas of the complex. He visits the food court and tries local food, including youtiao, which he finds thick and tasty. He also sees the theme-park section, now closed, and reflects on what the space was meant to become.
The mall's original ambition was to attract 100,000 visitors each day. That level of foot traffic did not materialize, and the project became associated with empty retail space. The distance from public transport and an attempt to appeal to the wrong visitors are described as factors in its early difficulties.
How the complex adapted
The mall's construction was backed by an instant-noodle tycoon who invested more than a billion dollars to build what was intended to be China's largest mall. Nico considers whether better market research and a more realistic visitor target might have produced a stronger result. The current layout reflects a change in approach: large areas were divided into smaller units that could suit local shops and businesses selling online.
This adaptation has not made the entire complex busy. Instead, the ground floor has activity while the upper levels remain quiet. Nico's exploration moves between food, the closed attraction area and the mall's history, showing both the original scale of the project and its present-day use. The video leaves viewers to consider whether a mall that is still operating in a different form should be called a failure or a survivor.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What was the most surprising thing about the mall?
- A: It wasn't as empty as I expected. The ground floor was actually quite busy.
- Q: What did you think of the Youtiao?
- A: They were amazing. So thick and tasty, maybe even too big to eat with chopsticks.
- Q: What's the story behind the mall's construction?
- A: An instant noodle tycoon invested over a billion dollars to build the biggest mall in China, but it didn't meet expectations.
- Q: Why did the mall fail initially?
- A: They aimed for an unrealistic number of visitors and targeted the wrong demographic. It was also too far from public transport.
- Q: What's the mall like now?
- A: It's surviving, not thriving. They've subdivided the space into smaller shops to attract smaller businesses and online sellers.
