Construction began for European City, a Nanshan shopping mall that will house outlets for 4 European retail giants.  One of the retail chains, the Swedish furniture giant IKEA, has started its construction.  The other three stores will be British home improvement tools and supplies retailer B&Q, German supermarket chain Metro and French sports equipment manufacturer Decathlon.  The Shenzhen IKEA will become the IKEA business headquarters in South China.

Located near the intersection of North Ring Road, Shahe Road East and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway, European City will occupy 105,000 square meters of land with a total investment of 1 billion yuan (US$125,000).  European City has been planned as "a household decoration business center in the Pearl River Delta region gathering world-renowned brands," according to the trade and commerce bureau of Nanshan District. 

Other stores in European City will begin construction in early 2007.  European City is scheduled to open in 2008.
                                                                                  (Source: Shenzhen Government Online)