From Ice rinks, aquariums, and even roller coasters – these shopping malls have it all. Well, most of them do. Here are the five largest shopping malls in the world.

5.) Dubai Mall (3.77 million square feet)

At number five is the Dubai Mall which is part of the Burj Khalifa complex; famous for being the tallest structure ever built by man. Based on total area, the Dubai Mall is actually the largest in the world at 12 million square feet. But in terms of leasable area, it’s roughly the same size as the West Edmonton Mall in Canada. The mall features the world’s biggest candy store, a 5 star luxury hotel, over 20 cinema screens, and hundreds of restaurants and cafes. It also has over 1,200 shops. But perhaps its most intriguing attraction is its aquarium which happens to be one of the biggest in the world.

4.)  SM Mall of Asia (4.2 million square feet)

The SM Mall of Asia opened in 2006 in the Philippines. The complex features four buildings all connected by walkways and also has a 20-seater tram which transports shoppers around the mall. The main attraction however is not the tram; the SM Mall features an IMAX cinema which has one of the largest 3D screens in the world. There is also an impressive, Olympic sized ice-skating rink where competitive and casual skating both take place as well as ice hockey games.

3.) CentralWorld (4.62 million square feet)

This eight-story shopping mall opened in 1990 in Bangkok. It’s the biggest shopping mall in Thailand and is marketed towards middle-class shoppers. In May 2010, the mall fell victim to a serious arson attack by anti government protesters. The mall burned for two days and many stores collapsed in the fire. However, after repairs were made, the complex finally reopened its doors on the 28th December.

2.) Golden Resources Mall (6.0 million square feet) 

The Golden Resources Mall is located in China, and was the world’s largest shopping mall between 2004 and 2005. Unfortunately, the mall wasn’t successful; the developer estimated an enthusiastic 50,000 shoppers would utilise the mall every day, but in reality, it was around 20 in an hour. The main issues the mall faced were inflated prices that many normal Chinese couldn’t afford, and its location; it was located outside the city of Beijing – many tourists weren’t even aware of its existence.

1.) New South China Mall (6.46 million square feet) 

In first place and crowned the largest shopping mall in the world is the New South China Mall in Dongguan. The mall consists of over seven zones, all of which are modeled on other iconic international cities, such as the Arc de Triomphe. It also features a whacky indoor-outdoor roller coaster. Unfortunately, despite measuring 6.46 million square feet, this mall has been nicknamed the ghost mall; it doesn’t have any customers. While a few fast food chains are located at the entrance of the mall, around 99% of the other store spaces are vacant due to a lack of occupants. Since opening in 2005, the mall simply hasn’t been successful, which is an incredible shame.

Did you find this list of shopping malls interesting? Let us know if you’ve been to any!

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