Shop til you drop in Taiwan

Taiwan recently joined the ranks of mega shopping complexes with the recent inauguration of the nine-storey Kaohsiung Dream Mall, located in the Kaohsiung Multifunctional Commerce and Trade Park.

As the largest shopping centre in Taiwan, sixth largest in Asia and the 11th largest in the world, the Dream Mall covers 399,399 square metres of floor space. It is approximately 6.5 times the size of the Kaohsiung Hanshin Department Store and 2 times the size of the Taipei Living Mall. The Dream Mall has become a new landmark in Kaohsiung and is the first large scale international shopping centre in Asia.

Combining diverse leisure and entertainment facilities, the venue offers designer clothing, lifestyle products, food outlets, bookstores, cinema house, wholesale warehouses, amusement centres, and others, providing the ultimate shopping environment. Products from more than 500 specialty stores, 800 businesses and 1000 brands are offered inside the mall, including stores such as the British institution Marks and Spencer and Japan’s Hankyu Department Store Nitori.

The spatial design of the complex integrates nature and marine concepts and is divided into two architectural areas: a fish-shaped building and the main building. The complex features wide indoor streets between buildings that have an atmosphere similar to that of Fifth Avenue in New York.

A highlight is the rooftop Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel which rotates a full circle every 15 minutes and is decorated with hundreds of different neon lights in various colours. The view of a vibrant harbour city and international port can be seen from the wheel. Outside the mall is a hundred metre scenic boulevard along with an 824-inch projection screen, the largest in Asia.

The Trade Park is already home to IKEA, Carrefour, Kaohsiung Software Technology Park, and the headquarters for the ChinaSteel Corporation. The Dream Mall will also help attract hardware and software investments from other related businesses, creating more job opportunities.

The Dream Mall will not only head the consumer market in southern Taiwan, but also provide its visitors of Taiwan with a new recreational and entertainment choice.

For further information contact Taiwan Tourism on 1800 TAIWAN (82426) or visit www.taiwantourism.org