By Written by Kristi Lanier
Updated: 2006-08-11 11:04

At 210,000 square meters, trekking through the Cloud Nine Shopping Mall (1018 Changning Lu by Kaixuan Lu) requires time, but for dedicated shoppers the investment pays dividends. Located next to Zhongshan Park and accessible from both metro lines two and three, Shanghai’s newest mega-mall, designed by American architecture, interior design and planning giant Arquitectonica, has space for 800 retail stores and 30 restaurants. Since its opening last December, contracts have been signed for 84 per cent of the space, with 90 per cent occupancy expected by year-end, according to the mall’s President Liu Yi. Future tenants include a multiplex cinema, health club and the city’s largest comic book store, but for now, the buzz is in the basement, with a new Carrefour, restaurants and electronics retailer Yolo. that’s traipsed the quiet marble upper levels and came upon four unique or new-to-Shanghai offerings well worth checking out.

Crocs

The fastest-selling shoe in the world is a colorful plastic-like clog punched with holes – proof again that in fashion, anything is possible. Crocs were first marketed in 2002 as a boating shoe, and soon won a following with its innovative slip-resistant, non-marking, and super-lightweight material. Four years later they’re selling millions worldwide to everyone from doctors to celebrities. As if to underscore that, on a slow weeknight the fifth-floor shop was abuzz with shoe enthusiasts. The store carries a full complement of styles, sizes and colors – clogs, slides and flip flops dandied up in everything from khaki to fuschia. Most styles sell for a mere RMB 299. 

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