Beijing expands as grand shopping malls introduced to suburban districts
Several newly opened grand shopping centres in suburbs of Beijing have recently been attracting thousands of shoppers. Suburban citizens in these areas no longer need to go all the way to the city centre to buy high level products.
Let's take a closer look with reporter Liu Min.
Reporter:
Right beside the Liyuan light rail station, Gui You shopping centre has found a location in a suburban area of Tongzhou for the first time. In the past, suburban citizens needed to travel downtown for high profile products, but now the modern and famous brands are all available right outside their own doorsteps.
"It's now much more convenient than ever before. Now the shopping centre here can meet needs."
"There is no need for me to go all the way downtown to purchase daily necessities."
As cities like Beijing continue to expand, new communities have emerged in suburban areas. There are now more than 1 million average residents in Tongzhou District alone, which used to be a rural area in the east of Beijing. 90% of the new residents there are white collar workers who work downtown with ages ranging from 25 to 40. They are now the main consumer force, with purchasing power of 10 billion yuan per year. They are also the target customers for shopping centres like Gui You. Meng Fanming is the manager of the mall.
"We have a big supermarket on our lower level. From the first to the fifth floor are brand stores. We also have restaurants and beauty salons to meet the needs of every citizen."
As the white collar workers in Tongzhou no longer have to rush to the city centre for brand shopping, residents in the Shi Jingshan district of east Beijing have flocked to the newly opened shopping mall–'Wanda Plaza'. An advanced IMAX cinema in Wanda has even attracted some residents from the east to watch movies here. The 'Beijing Modern Plaza' will also built as another shopping centre in the area.
In the southern part of the city, a grand shopping centre called 'Gome Shopping mall' spread across 300 square meters, will welcome customers this May. Meeting the needs of locals the suburban shopping malls also represent the development potential of the expanding city. Deputy Secretary-General of the China Commerce Association for General Merchandise Fan Yanru says these newly merged shopping centres in suburban Beijing will change the commercial structure of the city.
"In the past the shopping malls concentrated in the centre of Beijing such as Xi Dan and Wangfujing. However, the city has expanded and average citizen's incomes have also increased. These old shopping areas no longer meet the needs of the whole community. The newly opened shopping malls will also bring further development and prosperity to local districts."
Fan Yanru believes that districts like Fangshan, Daxing and Shijingshan still have great potentials for development of shopping centers. Hotels and office buildings will also be introduced into these areas.
For China Drive, I'm Liu Min.