'New Silk Road' Runs Through Dubai's Dragonmart

DUBAI, July 30, 2009 — -- Dubai is a shopper's paradise, the land of 1,001 malls. Among them, one mall stands apart: the DragonMart, with its 1,200 vendors winding nearly a mile, calls itself the largest trading hub for Chinese goods outside of mainland China.

The DragonMart, built by state-owned developer Nakheel in the form of a twisting dragon, is part of a free trade zone in Dubai's International City. Inside, the fluorescent lights and bare-bones interior showcase everything from power tools to furniture to imitation Renaissance art.

One tobacco vendor sells Chinese "Double Happiness" cigarettes alongside Marlboros and Cuban cigars (most of the buyers are American, said the shopkeeper). Another offers Chinese groceries, with imports like seaweed chips, freeze-dried shrimp and a gelatinous snack called "Jellyfish King."

The Dragonmart is an indoor Chinatown, supported by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. It has been a gateway for vendors to the once-booming Gulf economies, lured by the relatively lighter competition and business restrictions. Chinese-made bath fixtures, garden sculptures, and lamps of all sizes and design were sold in bulk to Gulf developers building the gleaming towers that now stand over the city.

For vendors like Lucy, a Beijing native who sells solar-powered light fixtures made in China, Dragonmart has been her version of the American dream.

"It's different from China to do business. Here it's easy," she explained while demonstrating the workings of a solar-powered backpack. "Every Chinese rich man who has money wants to visit Dubai [and] do business."

Lucy, who like other vendors asked that her last name not be used for fear of punishment for speaking about Dragonmart, moved to Dubai five years ago. Today she lives with her husband, who also works at the Dragonmart, and their 3-year-old son. Like many employees they live in the "China cluster" of the neighboring International City development -- a bland, multi-story apartment complex subdivided into country themes.

The lifestyle there, she says, hasn't been easy. The nearby sewage treatment plant ruins the air, forcing residents indoors.

"[At night] children cannot go to outside play. And in the day it's too hot," she told ABC News. "Every day they're at home, 24 hours they're at home."

"I think Dubai, or the UAE, or the whole Middle East is the best place to be for business. But not for life," she added.