10 Largest Shopping Malls in the World

10. Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, Malaysia – 396,000 square meters

You won’t miss this place if you are in the Bandar Sunway area in Subang Jaya. It has a pyramid design with a giant lion standing guard at the entrance. The mall opened in 1997 with some redevelopment done in 2007. It has more than 800 shops and services available. The entire building has an Egyptian-inspired design, with pseudo hieroglyphics and pharaoh statues.

9. Cehavir Mall, Istanbul, Turkey – 420,000 square meters

The complete name is Istanbul Cehavir Shopping and Entertainment Centre and it is also known as Sisli Kultur ve Ticaret Merkezi. It opened on October 15, 2005 and is considered to be the largest shopping mall in the European continent. The mall is located in the Sisli district of Istanbul and features 343 shops, 48 restaurants, 12 movie houses, a show stage, a bowling hall and even a roller coaster ride. With six floors available for retail shops, international brands and fast food restaurant chains have all established a branch in the mall.

8. Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 420,000 square meters

Mid Valley Megamall opened in the latter part of 1999 and features 430 stores and services. Aside from the shopping mall, it also has a convention center, a 646-room business hotel called the Cititel Midvalley, Boulevard Hotel and an 11-storey exclusive office tower.

7. Central World, Bangkok, Thailand – 429,500 square meters

Central World opened in 1990, though it briefly closed down in May 2010 after anti-government demonstrators set part of it on fire. It features 495 shops and services. It also has a five-star hotel, convention center, office tower and parking structure. It was originally the World Trade Center before it was renamed to Central World Plaza in 2002 and to Central World in 2005.

6. Persian Gulf Complex, Shiraz, Iran – 450,000 square meters

Also known as the Fars Shopping Complex, this mall is the largest mall in the world in terms of number of shops and services with 2,500. It opened in September 2011 with the Carrefour Hypermarket serving as its anchor store. The plan is to eventually have a hotel, swimming pools, tennis court, convention center, amusement parks, bowling alley, billiard hall and six cinema theaters included in the mall. It is located in the city of Shiraz, which is considered to be the cultural capital of Iran.

5. 1 Utama, Selangor, Malaysia – 465,000 square meters

This shopping mall was opened in 1995, with a newer wing being inaugurated in 2003. The two wings feature more than 700 stores. There are also four department stores anchoring the entire mall, namely AEON, Isetan, Parkson and Tangs. There are also a couple of supermarkets, namely AEON and Cold Storage. Moviegoers can also watch the latest films through the mall’s two cinema providers, GSC and TGV.

4. Isfahan City Center, Isfahan, Iran – 470,000 square meters

This is an ambitious project in Iran that is being built in four phases. It opened in November 2012 and features more than 750 stores. The mall has a hypermarket, shops, stalls, restaurants and airline offices. It will also have a seven-star hotel, seven cinema halls, a financial center, a trade center and an entertainment center. It is the largest shopping mall in Iran and the Middle East.

3. SM City North EDSA, Quezon City, Philippines – 482,878 square meters

SM City North EDSA is the largest shopping mall in Southeast Asia. It opened in 1985 but has gone on several expansions and redevelopment since then. It has more than 1,100 shops and 400 dining establishments. It also includes a residential condominium area.  It is divided into eight sections, namely the City Center, Interior Zone, The Annex, The Block, The Warehouse Club, Sky Garden, Northlink and Grass Residences.

2. Golden Resources Mall, Beijing, China – 557,419 square meters

The Golden Resources Mall is known as Jin Yuan. It is also known as the Great Mall of China. Location is also a bit of a problem for this mall though the opening of a new train station near it will probably solve the problem a bit. It is located in the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, outside of the usual enclaves of foreigners. Most stores do not accept foreign credit cards. Still, prestigious brands like Ralph Lauren and Chanel and fast food companies like Papa John’s Pizza have branches in this mall. Analysts say that despite meager earnings from these branches, it still serves as a form of advertisement and it allows the companies to be in the right position once the mall finally takes off.

1. New South China Mall, Dongguan, China – 659,612 square meters

This mall is located in the city of Dongguan in China. It has space for 2,350 stores. The mall is divided into seven zones, each of which are modeled after a particular area, namely Amsterdam, California, Caribbean, Egypt, Paris, Rome and Venice. It even has a replica of the famous tourist spots of those places, like the Arc de Triomphe of Paris and St. Mark’s Bell Tower of Venice. The well-planned layout however was not complimented by good overall business planning. New South China Mall is largely inaccessible to the general public. As a result, aside from a few fast food chains near the entrance, the rest of the mall remains vacant. Up to 99 percent of the leasable space is unoccupied.

Rare 1970s photos turn up of the building of Disney’s Space Mountain

SPACE MOUNTAIN AT Walt Disney World in Orlando is one of the most nostalgic rides in America.

Originally conceived by Walt Disney himself, the project was put on hold indefinitely after his death in 1966.

The attraction was eventually given the green light in the ’70s, and astronaut Gordon Cooper joined the creative team to help make the roller coaster seem more like an actual space flight.

Space Mountain was officially unveiled at the Magic Kingdom in 1975, and two years later at Disneyland in 1977. Today, it’s still one of the most popular rides and exists at all five Disney Parks around the world.

Imagineering Disney, a blog run by writers who used to work at Walt Disney Corporation, received images illustrating the 1974 construction of the ride from Disney and shared them with Business Insider. See how the iconic ride was constructed below.

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

Cinderella Castle rises in the background behind the construction site. RCA helped fund the construction and sponsored the ride for nearly 20 years.

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

It was built outside the park’s perimeter, and initially accessible by tunnel. Space Mountain is the oldest operating roller coaster in Florida.

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

The ride dome is 300 feet in diameter.

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

The coaster’s steepest drop is 39 degrees.

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

The ride was last revamped in 2009. Today it lasts 2 minutes and 35 seconds.

And today:

Courtesy of Imagineering Disney

20 Photos of Iconic Buildings and Bridges As They Were Being Built!

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There's a great scene in the first season of Mad Men where Don unveils a campaign for Bethlehem Steel. "New York, Chicago, and Detroit—all brought to you by Bethlehem," reads the copy. The client rejects the pitch, but the sentiment itself was hard to argue with: steel from those small rustbelt towns was feeding the growth of a kind of city never imagined before the 20th century.

Still, for most of us, it's hard to imagine that iconic landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge or the Empire State Building ever didn't exist. In the same way we take these buildings and bridges for granted, we also rarely consider what cities were like before—or during—their construction. So, with that in mind, check out 20 of our favorite vintage construction photos below. And keep in mind, this is just a jumping off point—post yours in the comments, below.

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The Washington Monument in 1869, via.

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And a good one from the previous century: the construction of the Eiffel Tower, which began in 1887.

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The New York Times building under construction in 1903.

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The construction of the Manhattan Bridge, in 1909.

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The Lincoln Memorial in 1916, via.

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The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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The LA City Hall under construction in 1927. Photo via.

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The Chrysler Building under construction, around 1929.

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The construction of the Empire State Building, in the early 1930s.

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A man stands on cables over the Golden Gate Bridge, circa 1933.

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The construction of the LAX Theme Building, circa 1960.

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The World Trade Center, circa 1966.

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Ceasar's Palace construction, in Las Vegas, around 1965. Via.

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San Francisco's Transamerica Building, circa 1969.

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The Sears Tower under construction in 1970.

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Epcot under construction in the early 1980s.

History of Tokyo - Urban Planning

The history of the city of Tokyo stretches back some 400 years. Originally named Edo, the city started to flourish after Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate here in 1603. As the center of politics and culture in Japan, Edo grew into a huge city with a population of over a million by the mid-eighteenth century. Throughout this time, the Emperor resided in Kyoto, which was the formal capital of the nation. The Edo Period lasted for nearly 260 years until the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when the Tokugawa Shogunate ended and imperial rule was restored. The Emperor moved to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo. Thus, Tokyo became the capital of Japan.

During the Meiji era (1868 – 1912), Japan began its avid assimilation of Western civilization. Buildings made of stone and bricks were built on the sites of the mansions of feudal lords, and the major roads were paved with round stones. In 1869 Japan’s first telecommunications line was opened between Tokyo and Yokohama, and the first steam locomotive started running in 1872 from Shimbashi to Yokohama. Western hairstyles replaced the traditional topknot worn by men, and bowler hats, high collars, and bustled skirts were the height of fashion. In 1882 Japan’s first zoological gardens were opened in Ueno. In 1885 the cabinet system of government was adopted and Ito Hirobumi became Japan’s first prime minister. With the promulgation of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1889 Japan established the political system of a modern state.

During the Taisho era (1912 – 1926), the number of people working in cities increased, and a growing proportion of citizens began to lead consumer lifestyles. Educational standards improved, and the number of girls going on to study at higher schools increased. Performing arts such as theater and opera thrived.

In September 1923 Tokyo was devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake. The fires caused by the earthquake burned the city center to the ground. Over 140,000 people were reported dead or missing, and 300,000 houses were destroyed. After the earthquake a city reconstruction plan was formulated, but because the projected costs exceeded the national budget only a small part of it was realized.

Beginning shortly after the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Showa era (1926 – 1989) started in a mood of gloom. Even so, Japan’s first subway line was opened between Asakusa and Ueno in 1927, and in 1928 the 16th general elections for the House of Representatives of the Diet (or Parliament) were held for the first time after the enactment of universal male suffrage. In 1931 Tokyo Airport was completed at Haneda, and in 1941 the Port of Tokyo was opened. By 1935 the resident population of Tokyo had grown to 6.36 million, comparable to the populations of New York and London.

However, the Pacific War, which broke out in 1941, had a great impact on Tokyo. The dual administrative system of Tokyo-fu (prefecture) and Tokyo-shi (city) was abolished for war-time efficiency, and the prefecture and city were merged to form the Metropolis of Tokyo in 1943. The metropolitan administrative system was thus established and a governor was appointed. In the final phase of the war, Tokyo was bombed 102 times. The heaviest air raid was on March 10, 1945, in which there was great loss of life and material damage. The war came to an end on September 2, 1945, when the Japanese government and military representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender. Much of Tokyo had been laid waste by the bombings and by October 1945 the population had fallen to 3.49 million, half its level in 1940.

In May 1947 the new Constitution of Japan and the Local Autonomy Law took effect, and Seiichiro Yasui was elected the first Governor of Tokyo by popular vote under the new system. In August of that year, the present 23 special ward system began in Tokyo Metropolis.

The 1950s were a time of gradual recovery for the nation. Television broadcasting began in 1953, and Japan joined the United Nations in 1956. Economic recovery was aided in particular by the special procurement boom arising from the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. This led to Japan’s entry into a period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s. Due to technological innovations and the introduction of new industries and technologies, this period saw the beginning of mass production of synthetic fibers and household electric appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines. As a result, the everyday lives of the residents of Tokyo underwent considerable transformation. In 1962 the population of Tokyo broke the 10 million mark. In 1964 the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo, the Shinkansen (“Bullet Train”) line began operations, and the Metropolitan Expressway was opened, forming the foundation for Tokyo’s current prosperity.

Entering the 1970s, the strain of rapid economic growth became apparent as the country was beset by environmental issues such as pollution of the air and rivers, as well as high levels of noise. The Oil Crisis of 1973 brought the many years of rapid economic growth to a halt.

In the 1980s, Tokyo took large steps in economic growth as a result of its increasingly global economic activity and the emergence of the information society. Tokyo became one of the world’s most active major cities, boasting attractions such as cutting-edge technology, information, culture, and fashion, as well as a high level of public safety. From 1986 onwards, land and stock prices spiraled upwards, a phenomenon known as the “bubble economy.”

Japan enjoyed tremendous growth under the bubble economy, but with the burst of the bubble at the beginning of the 1990s, sinking tax revenues caused by the protracted economic slump led to a critical state in metropolitan finances. Tokyo was, however, able to overcome this financial crisis through two successive fiscal reconstruction programs.

Tokyo is now accelerating efforts to achieve the goals of the 10-Year Plan, Tokyo’s urban strategy formulated in 2006. Along with such endeavors, a new vision for the city, Tokyo Vision 2020 was formulated to deal with new challenges such as those that came to light with the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. While using this as a new blueprint to drive change for the revitalization of Japan, Tokyo will continue to evolve into a city that befits the 21st century.

Ginza 4-chome Crossing (1955)	Ginza 4-chome Crossing (2008)