The World’s Largest Mall Is…Empty

South China Mall outside of Guangzhou (where??) is by far the world’s largest, dwarfing the Mall of America in every way. There are carnival rides, mini-parks, canals and lakes amid classic Western-style buildings with space for hundreds of shops. Alex Hu, a local Guangzhou boy who made it big in international business, wanted South China Mall to be a hometown monument to his success — even though Guangzhou has no major airports or highways nearby.  And four years after its construction, the mall sits virtually empty of both shops and shoppers. But the Chinese have imported yet another concept familiar to Americans — South China Mall is considered too big to fail. So, employees line up for flag-raising ceremonies and pep talks about “brand building” before going off to maintain the deserted concourses meticulously.  Click here to watch PBS’s fascinating, 13-minute documentary.