Mega duty-free shopping complex opens in China's Hainan

Haikou International Duty Free Shopping Complex, the world's largest stand-alone duty-free shopping mall, opened Friday in Haikou, the capital of south China's island province of Hainan.

Developed by China Duty Free Group, the shopping complex is located on the west coast of Haikou, next to Xinhai port, a key transportation hub. With a construction area of around 280,000 square meters, it features more than 800 well-known international and domestic brands.

"The new mall has a unique look, and the design is full of technology," said Gu Jieming, a tourist from Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, adding that the duty-free goods have "attractive" prices.

Yu Meng, a tourist from Beijing, purchased perfume and skin-care products. Spending holidays in Hainan quite often, she said duty-free shopping was a part of her routines in Hainan.

"With a great number of global brands and abundant goods, the new duty-free shop is more than enough for my needs," she said.

Liu Feng, director of the Research Center for Free Trade Port with Chinese Characteristics at Hainan Normal University, said the complex opening would optimize the consumption market of Hainan duty-free shopping.

"It can help further attract overseas consumption and boost the construction of Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center," Liu said.

Starting July 1, 2020, Hainan has increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan (about 4,184 U.S. dollars) to 100,000 yuan per person. The categories of duty-free goods have been expanded from 38 to 45, with electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops added to the duty-free list.

Official data show sales of offshore duty-free shops in the province exceeded 60 billion yuan in 2021.

There are currently 11 duty-free shopping malls in Hainan, located in the cities of Haikou, Sanya, and Qionghai.