​Dubai Dragon Mart revives businesses on the silk road

"Dragon Mart" a popular Chinese market in Dubai, is said to be becoming one of the main attractions in the city, with an increasing number of travellers making their way specifically to the massive complex as part of their time in the UAE.

Over 3-thousand stores are clustered in the massive commercial compound, selling a wide variety of goods imported from China, ranging anywhere from diesel generators and spare auto parts to buttons and batteries.

Stretching 1.2-kilometers and built in the shape of a dragon, Dragon Mart has become a centerpiece of Dubai's International City complex.

Abdu-allah Jasim, a regular traveller to Dubai said he and his family make a point of stopping at Dragon Mart every time they're in the city. 

"I often come to the dragon city to do some shopping with my family. There are a wide variety of goods. We come here once or twice a month and purchase some household appliances, clothes and shoes etc.. We could find goods made in China almost every at the markets in our country. The goods are nice and inexpensive which I believe will be increasingly popular," Jasim said.

Dragon Mart, officially called Dubai Dragon City, was first established in 2004. 

Over the past 13 years it's become China's largest overseas trading center. 

It's estimated the compound attracts nearly 65-thousand visitors every day, many of them looking for essential items.

Saeed Rawahi is another regular to Dragon Mart.

However, unlike many others, he drives over 400-kilometers to search-out deals from his home in Oman's capital, Muscat. 

"At first my friends sometimes came here to buy some building materials and household items and some products that are rarely seen at Oman. Then my family began doing shopping here to buy some goods for daily use like clothes and accessories. And I myself prefer electronic products. I went to Shenzhen in 2015 and visited an electronics factory and I hope to travel to other cities like Guangzhou," Rawahi said.

Dubai has become an essential portal for Chinese businesses hoping to tap opportunities throughout the Middle East.

Many Chinese products sold at Dragon Mart often find their way throughout the region, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Dragon Mart products are also increasingly showing up in east Africa, and even in parts of Europe. 

To capitalize on its popularity, the local government of Dubai has begun working on plans to turn Dragon Mart into a full-fledged tourist center.

Holiday resort plans include the creation of residential buildings, hotels, cinemas and various recreational facilities, with officials in Dubai hoping to ride the wave of the Chinese government's revitalization of one of the world's oldest trading routes, the Silk Road.