Dubai: When you say “China” in Dubai, chances are Dragon Mart is the first thing that comes to mind.
The mall mainly dealing in Chinese goods on Al Aweer Road is already the largest Chinese trading hub outside mainland China according to its developer, Nakheel. Small and medium-sized enterprises like these are expected to grow further since the UAE and China aim to boost trade ties with the official visit of a high-level delegation to China beginning Sunday.
As for Dragon Mart, much has changed in the past 11 years since the retail hub opened in 2004.
Now renamed Dragon City following its expansion and recent opening, the mixed-used facility near International City has 1.3 million sq ft of new retail space — the size of 17 football pitches.
But many things stay the same — the people, the products, and the prices — patrons say.
The first Dragon Mart welcomes an average of 65,000 visitors a day, and up to 80,000 at peak times. This is expected to pick up even more with the recent opening of Dragon Mart 2, especially during long weekends and Eid holidays as the shopping mall is a favourite among GCC residents and even tourists looking for bargains.
Waiting for his wife after walking around the mall for nearly three hours, British tourist Michael Kelly seemed pleased with his finds.
“This place is excellent. It’s not as crowded as Dubai Mall, where shops are very different and are sold at luxury prices. Here products are cheaper,” Kelly told Gulf News.
Kelly said his daughter recommended Dragon Mart to him when he asked her “where residents shop”.
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“My wife likes it here so much she said she’ll be back,” Kelly said, clutching his shopping bags in one hand.
Those living nearby are fond of it too, like Parag Singh, who lives in International City.
“When my family comes on vacation here, in 30 days they come here at least 10 times. They spend the entire day shopping without getting tired because the products are very cheap, you can haggle, and there is so much variety,” Singh, 51, from India, told Gulf News. “When my wife learnt that Dragon Mart now has an extension, she became excited because she knew she’d have more places to go once here,” he added.
Some 70 per cent of the extension of Dragon Mart will be taken up by Chinese retailers.
Sally Sah, 31, is among them. The Chinese expatriate from the eastern province of Zhejiang has been doing business in Dragon Mart for 10 years.
Sah has four shops selling ready-to-wear women’s clothes in Dragon City, three in the old building, and one in the new building. Sah said there is currently a lull in business, but on good days people from everywhere, especially Oman, come to splurge.
But as public awareness of the new extension increases, Sah said traffic to the mall will rise significantly.
