Shopping Center  Studies at Eastern Connecticut State University
 

World's Largest Shopping Centers
A partially completed section of the South China Mall in Dongguan.
[Nelson Ching/New York Times]
Asian Shopping Mall Boom
     The shopping mall construction boom in Asia has attracted a good deal of international media attention during the past few years. Eight of the ten largest malls in the world were in Asia in early 2008 and several more mega-malls in China and the United Arab Emirates are under construction.

     Mall watchers have predicted that within the next few years, seven of the ten largest shopping malls in the world will be in China alone. 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 Barboza, "China Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale, " New York Times, May 25, 2005. 

     This phenomenon is also surveyed in a  short article, with images of the ten largest malls, by Tom Van Riper in "World's Largest Malls," Forbes.com, January 9, 2007.

      Exclusive Shopping Centers Studies interview about Chinese malls with a Hong Kong-based real estate expert:  Interview link.
   
Table 3
World's Largest Shopping Centers Compared
      
This table is compiled from data reported by Directory of Major Malls (2008) for US and Canada and by various mall management companies on official web pages and press releases for the rest of the world. Data may not be consistent or entirely reliable. This is especially true of claimed gross leasable area (GLA), the criterion upon which the ranking is based. GLA is the area of interior floor space leased for retail shops, services, restaurants, and entertainment, such as night clubs, video arcades, and cinemas. For further discussion, see The Largest Malls on this site.  Thanks to those who have provided additions and corrections.

     
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
(660,000)
 9.6-million
(892,000)
 1,500
 The world's largest shopping mall in early 2006 arrayed six separate themed areas. Recent visitors report that most retail spaces are vacant.  Official site.
Jin Yuan
(Golden Resources Shopping Mall)
Beijing, China
 2004
 6.0-million
(560,000)
  7.3-million
(680,000) 		1,000+ Also known as the "Great Mall of China," this mega-mall has 6 floors and is located near the Fourth Ring Road, west of Beijing. 
SM Mall of Asia
Pasay City, Philippines
 2006
 4.2-million
(386,000)*

The largest mall in the Philippines is four buildings connected by walkways. It features several cinemas and movie theaters, an ice skating rink, and Science Discovery Center. Official Site.
Dubai Mall
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
 2008
 3.8-million
(350,000)
 5.9-million
(550,000)
 1,200
 Part of a much larger upscale entertainment and lifestyle center featuring KidZania, a 22-screen Cineplex, 5-star hotel, walk-through aquarium, indoor theme park, ice skating rink, and food court. Official site.
West Edmonton Mall
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada		 1981 3.8-million
(350,000)
 5.3-million
(490,000)
 800 Largest shopping mall in North America; includes indoor wave pool, amusement areas, hotel, restaurants; 20,000 parking spaces. Official site. 
Cevahir Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey
 2005
 3.8-million
(348,000)
 4.5-million
(420,000)
 280
 Apparently the largest shopping mall in Europe; has six floors, cinemas, roller coaster, and theater.  Official site
SM City North Edsa
Quezon City, Philippines		 1985
 3.6-million
(332,000)*
900
 Has five floors, 12 digital movies theaters, and a 200-shop Cyberzone; an IMAX theater planned to open in early 2009. Official site.
SM Megamall
Mandaluyong City
Philippines
 1991
 3.6-million
(332,000)*
600
 Has a bowling center, ice skating rink, 12 movie theaters, and convention halls. One source credits the mall with 200 restaurants. Official site.
Berjaya Times Square
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
 2005
 3.4-million
(320,000)
 7.5-million
(700,000)
 1,000+
 Includes 45 restaurants, a theme park, and 3D Digi IMAX theater.  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.
Eastwood Mall Complex
Youngstown, Ohio, USA
 1969
 3.2-million
(297,000)
161
 Official site
Zhengjia Plaza
(Grandview Mall)
Guangzhou, China		 2005
 3.0-million
(280,000)
 4.5-million
(420,000)
Enclosed in a complex that includes a 48-story hotel and 30-story office building.  Official Site.
SM City Cebu
Cebu City, Philippines
 1991
 2.9-million
(267,000)

 Official Site
King of Prussia Mall
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 		1962
2.8-million
(260,000)

327
 Created by connecting together three adjacent malls, managed by a single company.  Official site.  
Mall of America
Bloomington, Minnesota,
USA
 1992 2.8-million
(260,000)
 4.2-million
(390,000)
 520
 Largest shopping mall in the United States (by total area); includes a theme park, entertainment district on the 4th floor, and aquarium.  Official site. 
South Coast Plaza
Costa Mesa, California, USA
 1967
 2.7-million
(250,000)
280 Official site
Millcreek Mall
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA
 1975
 2.6-million
(242,000)
142
 Official site
Central Commercial Santafe
Bogota, Columbia
 2006
 2.7-million
(250,000)
485
 Enclosed mall on three floors has six themed plazas; largest in Columbia.  Official site.
Central World Plaza
Bangkok, Thailand
 2006
 2.6-million
(244,000)
500+
 21-screen cinemas, bowling lanes, and restaurants; also a convention center (not included in the GLA). 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.  Official site. 
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.
Dongfang Xin Tiandi
(Oriental Plaza)
Foshan, Guangdong, China
2.5-million
(230,000)
 8.6-million
(800,000)
No details available.
Siam Paragon
Bangkok, Thailand 		2005
 2.5-million
(230,000)
 4.1-million
(380,000)
Official site.  Additional 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.
Grand Canyon Parkway
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
 2003
 2.5-million (230,000)
10

 Official site not found
*Cited as "gross floor area," which may be somewhat greater than the comparable gross leasable area.  See The Largest Malls for further discussion of the determination of  the size of malls.



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, but it may not be fully operational in 2009.
   Two other 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.



Golden Resources Shopping Mall, Beijing, currently the largest mall in the world. It opened in the fall of 2004.   [Xinhuanet]



Aerial view of a portion the West Edmonton Mall, Alberta, Canada, the largest mall in North America.   [West Edmonton Mall photo]
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
 

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. 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]


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Created January 2000 by Emil Pocock, pocock@easternct.edu.  Last modified April 23, 2009..
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