After opening in 2005, the mall suffered from a severe lack of occupants. Targeted initially to an affluent market (the big cities of
Guangzhou and
Shenzhen are adjacent), Dongguan is itself mainly a city of low income migrant laborers who failed to respond to all the attractions the mall had to offer. The only occupied areas were near the entrance where several Western fast food chains are located and a parking structure re-purposed as a
kart racing track. A planned
Shangri-La Hotel was not completed. Filmmaker
Sam Green made a short film about the South China Mall called ''Utopia Part 3: the World's Largest Shopping Mall'' which premiered at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on PBS's documentary series
POV. Originally called "South China Mall", the centre was redubbed as "New South China Mall, Living City" in September 2007. The 2007 makeover was orchestrated by
Founder Group, which took over the property from the original owner Hu Guirong in December 2006. In 2013,
Vagabond Journey writer Wade Shepard wrote about his recent visit to the mall. He acknowledged that most visitors attend the mall for its movie theaters featuring IMAX, and that families did gather in the play area. He also noticed that 4 full floors of the mall were unused, and that the water of the artificial indoor canals had turned green. In May 2019, renovation work began that aimed to target the mall more towards middle-class shoppers. In response to the
decline in big-box retail, like many other malls in China, the space has pivoted to incorporate more experience-based entertainment. The central square of the park was updated with new greenery and lighting and a
marine park called Sea Cube. New social venues such as night markets with food stalls have been installed, and the mall's popularity is reportedly increasing. As of 2020, the occupancy rate of the mall was 91%, which was partly due to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic; occupancy was projected to recover to 98% the following year. == Description ==