Big shopping malls offer everything you could want in one place. We’ve made a list of the 10 largest malls in the world, measured by their Gross Leasable Area—the space set aside for making money through stores, restaurants, and entertainment. The building surge in Asia, where land is inexpensive and labor is affordable, has created the biggest malls. Only two of these malls are found outside of Asia.
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Unveiling the World’s Largest Shopping Malls
10. Siam Paragon (3.22 million sq ft)
Siam Paragon in Bangkok stands among the largest shopping centers in Thailand, surpassed only by Central World. It is filled with specialty shops and restaurants. There is a cinema, an aquarium called Siam Ocean World, a gallery for Thai art, and a concert hall for opera. You can also find a bowling alley and a place for karaoke.
Berjaya Times Square (3.44 million sq ft)
Berjaya Times Square stands tall in Kuala Lumpur, a pair of towers rising from the ground. It houses a sprawling shopping center and two five-star hotels. With its vast 7.5 million square feet of space, it ranks as the fifth largest building in the world. Inside, over a thousand shops beckon, alongside sixty-five places to eat. There are attractions, too—Asia’s largest indoor theme park, Cosmo’s World, and the first IMAX theater in Malaysia, offering both 2D and 3D experiences, found on the tenth floor.
Istanbul Cevahir (3.47 million sq ft)
Istanbul Cevahir sprawls across 3.47 million square feet on the European side of the city. It opened in 2005 and stands as the largest shopping mall in Europe. Inside, there are 343 shops, 34 fast food places, and 14 fine restaurants. A grand stage hosts events. Twelve cinemas flicker with light. There is a bowling alley, a small roller coaster, and other diversions for those who seek them.
SM Megamall (3.6 million sq ft)
SM Megamall opened in 1991 in Metro Manila. It is vast, covering 3.6 million square feet. Each day, 800,000 people walk its halls, though it can hold up to 4 million. The mall has two main structures. Building A has cinemas, a bowling alley, food courts, and Toy Kingdom. Building B is for retail shops. A bridge connects the two, lined with various eateries. Right now, the mall is undergoing major renovations and expansions. When it is done, it will be the largest shopping mall in the Philippines.
West Edmonton Mall (3.77 million sq ft)
West Edmonton Mall sprawls across 3.77 million square feet in Edmonton, Alberta. It was the biggest shopping mall from 1981 to 2004 and remains the largest in the Americas. Inside, there are 800 stores and services. The mall boasts the world’s largest indoor amusement park and the largest indoor waterpark. There is also the Ice Palace, a smaller version of an NHL rink. Other diversions include an 18-hole miniature golf course, a movie theater, and a bowling alley.
Dubai Mall (3.77 million sq ft)
Dubai Mall sprawls across 3.77 million square feet, a vast expanse nestled within the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure man has ever raised. It claims the title of the largest shopping mall in the world by sheer area, rivaling the size of over fifty soccer fields. While it shares a comparable footprint with the West Edmonton Mall in terms of leasable space, it stands apart as a titan in its own right. Here, more than 1,200 shops beckon, including the world’s largest candy store. There’s an ice rink, a SEGA game center with a 3D bowling game, a luxury hotel that whispers of opulence, twenty-two cinema screens, and a multitude of eateries—one hundred and twenty in all. Among its wonders lies one of the planet’s largest aquariums, a testament to both ambition and excess.
SM Mall of Asia (4.2 million sq ft)
The SM Mall of Asia lies in Metro Manila, a vast expanse of four buildings linked by walkways. It opened in 2006. There is a tram that carries twenty passengers around the grounds, allowing shoppers to move easily. Among its highlights is an IMAX theater, boasting one of the largest 3D screens in the world. Also, there is an Olympic-sized ice skating rink, a place for both leisure skating and fierce competition in figure skating and ice hockey.
CentralWorld (4.62 million sq ft)
CentralWorld, a sprawling eight-story mall in Bangkok, first opened its doors in 1990. It was built for the middle class, a stark contrast to the high-end Siam Paragon. On May 19 of this year, it became a victim of unrest as anti-government protestors set it ablaze. The fire burned fiercely for two days, consuming the Zen department store in its fury. After months of toil and repair, CentralWorld welcomed back its patrons on September 28, with 80% of its shops ready to serve once more.
Golden Resources Mall (6.0 million sq ft)
Golden Resources Mall sprawled over six million square feet, a titan of commerce. It stood one and a half times larger than the Mall of America. For a brief time, from 2004 to 2005, it held the title of the world’s largest shopping mall. The dream was grand. The developer had envisioned fifty thousand shoppers each day. But the reality was stark; in 2004, only a handful wandered its vast halls—sometimes as few as twenty in an hour. High prices chased away the ordinary man, leaving the shelves dusty. And for the foreigner, the mall was a distant land, tucked away outside the beating heart of Beijing.
New South China Mall (6.46 million sq ft)
The New South China Mall in Dongguan is vast, stretching over six million square feet. It stands as the largest mall in the world by gross leasable area. Inside, it mimics the world’s great cities, with a replica of the Arc de Triomphe and a winding canal for gondolas. There’s even an indoor-outdoor roller coaster that twists and turns. But it is empty. Since it opened in 2005, the mall has been haunted by a lack of shoppers. More than 99% of its stores sit vacant, silent. Only near the entrance do a few fast food chains draw any life. They call it the largest ghost mall in the world.