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 giant restaurant area, the Golden Resources mega-mall in west Beijing claims to have more space than any other. There will soon be an artificial ski slope, a cinema complex and a spa in the mall, which spreads over 56ha.
The investors behind the £2,2-billion facility aim to capitalise on government plans to transform China into a ”well-off” society by 2020.
According to government statistics and consumer surveys, after more than 20 years of growth running at more than 9%, 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 $1 000 mark.
The rise in disposable income is pushing up retail sales by 13% a year.
According to a recent survey by the China Marketing and Media Study Group, almost half of the population has a cellphone, twice the figure of three years ago. The proportion owning computers has risen in the same period from a third to almost half.
”People have more money and they want to use it to improve their lives,” Qi Jingmei of the State Information Centre told the local media.
”This is what the government wants. Consumer spending is an increasingly important force in the economy.”
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 globalised consumer culture that the shopping centre represents. — Â