On the smoggy outskirts of Beijing, far beyond where the subway line finally ends, and the dust dunes roll over the border into Hebei Province, right there on the border, that is where you will find the Great Mall of China.

Construction started five/six years ago when the small border town Yanjiao was slated to become the next border boom town. This led to a run on house building and general craziness in the area.

Years later, these dreams never came true, and the town, like the Great Mall of China, is deserted.

Getting into the mall is quite simple: find the tunnel under the nearby hospital…

go through it in the dark…

emerge and find the pipe under the bullet train railway…

go through the tunnel…

walk down the causeway and you are in.

While there is security, and by the sound of it heavy work going on, the place is virtually empty, and the two guys on the roof didn’t even pay any attention to me.

There is a vast underground complex of tunnels full of dust and supplies, but no workers to be seen.

Welding lights can be seen in the very distance at the end of the tunnels, and there is the occasional crash of metal on metal, but still no sign of people.

There are various tunnels that weave under the complex, and probably under the hospital too.

The blind bear stands on the road marking the way out. Be careful, there is a man who sells guard dogs nearby.