深圳萬象城

This guide to 深圳萬象城 (The MixC) in Shenzhen starts with a city racing from fishing village to Special Economic Zone boomtown in barely two decades, and one gap even the boom hadn't filled: almost nobody in subtropical Shenzhen had ever stood on ice. It follows the mall's December 2004 opening and project manager Ted Wilson's account of the ambition behind it. It was also the city's first address for international luxury brands, and for many newcomers the place they made their very first major purchase.