Golden Resources Mall
Encyclopedia
Golden Resources Shopping Mall, or Jin Yuan (abbreviated from Chinese
: 金源时代购物中心) is a shopping mall
located near the Fourth Ring Road
in Beijing
, People's Republic of China
.
In English
, the mall has earned the nickname
Great Mall of China, owing to its total area of 6 million square feet (557,419 square metres) over six floors. At 1.5 times the size of the Mall of America
, Golden Resources Mall was the world's largest shopping mall from 2004 to 2005.
The mall was completed on 20 October 2004 after 20 months of construction and opened four days later. The Christian Science Monitor
describes:
Although the developer of the mall initially estimated that the mall would have 50,000 shoppers a day, as of 2004 the actual number was far smaller, as few as 20 in an hour. One problem was that prices of most items sold were far beyond the purchasing ability of most ordinary Chinese. Another barrier was the inaccessibility of Golden Resources Shopping Mall to foreign consumers because of what Forbes
magazine calls "a tough location outside the heart of the city."
One Westerner who works in the mall shed further light onto why Golden Resources Mall is 'Westerner unfriendly':
A writer for the China Business Review observed:
An American
executive based in Beijing suggested that name-brand corporations such as Ralph Lauren
, Papa John's Pizza
, and Chanel
regard these non-earning stores as a form of advertising
and positioning for the future sales.
Fu Yuehong, general manager of the New Yansha Group which operates nearly half the mall, explains:
In 2005, Golden Resources Shopping Mall became the world's second-largest mall when South China Mall
in Dongguan
was completed. It was still in second place as of late 2006.
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 金源时代购物中心) is a shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
located near the Fourth Ring Road
4th Ring Road (Beijing)
The 4th Ring Road is an expressway-like ring road in Beijing, China which runs around the city approximately 8 kilometres from the centre of the city.Although it is the city's third ring road, it is named the 4th Ring Road.- Route :...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
.
In English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the mall has earned the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
Great Mall of China, owing to its total area of 6 million square feet (557,419 square metres) over six floors. At 1.5 times the size of the Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...
, Golden Resources Mall was the world's largest shopping mall from 2004 to 2005.
The mall was completed on 20 October 2004 after 20 months of construction and opened four days later. The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
describes:
For sale: everything. goat-leatherGoatskinGoatskin may refer to:* Goatskin , the skin of a goat or the leather made from it* Goatskin , a container for wine...
motorcycle jackets, ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
bathroomBathroomA bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
sinkSinkA sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, for dishwashing or other purposes. Sinks generally have taps that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing...
s, hand-made violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, longcase clockLongcase clockA longcase clock, also tall-case clock, floor clock, or grandfather clock, is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower, or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are commonly 1.8–2.4 metres tall...
s, colonial-style deskDeskA desk is a furniture form and a class of table often used in a work or office setting for reading or writing on or using a computer. Desks often have one or more drawers to store office supplies and papers. Unlike a regular table, usually only one side of a desk is suitable to sit on . Not all...
s, JaguarJaguar (car)Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
s, diaperDiaperA nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
s. And that's barely getting started. It takes about two days to explore [...] With 230 escalatorEscalatorAn escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
s, more than 1,000 shops, restaurantRestaurantA restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
space the size of two football fields, and a skating rinkIce rinkAn ice rink is a frozen body of water and/or hardened chemicals where people can skate or play winter sports. Besides recreational ice skating, some of its uses include ice hockey, figure skating and curling as well as exhibitions, contests and ice shows...
- the Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
mall is a testament in glass and steel to the communist partyCommunist Party of ChinaThe Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
's desire to create a stable, happy, middle-income consumer class.
Although the developer of the mall initially estimated that the mall would have 50,000 shoppers a day, as of 2004 the actual number was far smaller, as few as 20 in an hour. One problem was that prices of most items sold were far beyond the purchasing ability of most ordinary Chinese. Another barrier was the inaccessibility of Golden Resources Shopping Mall to foreign consumers because of what Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine calls "a tough location outside the heart of the city."
One Westerner who works in the mall shed further light onto why Golden Resources Mall is 'Westerner unfriendly':
In each toilet location there are four or five toilets of the 'hole-in-the-ground' variety, and one handicapped toilet which is a standard pedestal type. However, these handicapped toilets are marked 'out of order' because they are used as the personal space of the cleaner for that toilet. Moreover, there is neither toilet paper nor hand soap in any toilet. There is little signage in English, and what is there is inaccurate - possibly out of date. Few shops have any English speaking staff. Westerners who venture into the Mall once are very unlikely to return.
A writer for the China Business Review observed:
Golden Resources has not attracted a large foreign crowd yet either, mostly because of the mall's location in northwestern Beijing outside of Third Ring Road — far from the city's foreign enclaves. I did not see a single foreign face or hear a foreign language in the hour and a half I spent shopping that Sunday afternoon. Moreover, none of the stores I visited accepted foreign credit cardCredit cardA credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
s. In contrast, in many stores at the Oriental Plaza and China World malls in the center of the city, no one bats an eye when a customer hands over a Visa card from a foreign bank.
An American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
executive based in Beijing suggested that name-brand corporations such as Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
, Papa John's Pizza
Papa John's Pizza
Papa John's Pizza is the third largest take-out and delivery pizza restaurant chain in the United States, behind Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. It is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Papa John's slogan is "Better Ingredients. Better pizza. Papa John's"...
, and Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
regard these non-earning stores as a form of advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and positioning for the future sales.
Fu Yuehong, general manager of the New Yansha Group which operates nearly half the mall, explains:
From the beginning we wanted the largest shopping center in the world [...] We are the country with the most people in the world. We have the fastest growing economy. The largest mall shows our progress as a society [...] We think it will take three to five years to start making a profit.
In 2005, Golden Resources Shopping Mall became the world's second-largest mall when South China Mall
South China Mall
New South China Mall in Dongguan, China is the largest mall in the world based on gross leasable area, and ranked second in total area to the Dubai Mall. However, it is largely vacant...
in Dongguan
Dongguan
Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to...
was completed. It was still in second place as of late 2006.