Tonight at 7 PM, the highly anticipated Apple Jing’an store is slated for its grand opening. The Sina editor had a filed visit. 

Nearing the bustling Jing’an Temple in Shanghai, the store has already attracted a crowd of nearly 400 people who have queued up hours. According to the security personnel, some people start queuing as early as 7 AM.

Photo/Sina

Apple Jingan Store stands as the tech giant's largest flagship store in the Greater China region, boasting an investment of over 83.4 million yuan. This store ranks only behind the iconic global flagship on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

In preparation for this momentous event, Apple CEO Tim Cook made a personal appearance in Shanghai yesterday. He hosted a small-scale sharing session with key suppliers BYD, LENS Technology, and Luxshare Precision at Apple’s Shanghai office. The gathering highlighted the latest advancements in smart and green manufacturing, as well as talent development—underscoring Apple’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

The store’s opening is also marked by the debut of a striking magnolia-shaped logo, inspired by Shanghai’s city flower. After visiting the store, many bloggers showed off the limited edition gift boxes from the new store, which are also full of magnolia elements. The gift boxes include bags, badges and stickers, all with a special logo, and also have a magnolia fragrance. The first customers to visit the store on the opening day will receive a gift box, and some netizens who were unable to go to the scene said they liked the design very much. The editor found on a trading platform that the second-hand price of the gift box was 399 yuan, and there were also many sellers who clearly marked the price and helped to "buy" the new store souvenirs.

In a recent Weibo post, Cook expressed his delight over the upcoming opening, stating, “We are thrilled to be opening our doors at #AppleJing'an this Thursday. Our team can't wait to welcome customers to this extraordinary space.

Photo/Weibo post of Cook

Reflecting on Apple’s 30-year legacy of innovation, Cook previously shared on Weibo, for the past three decades Apple has been innovating and delivering the best products and services for customers in China, and we can’t wait to open our newest store Apple Jing’an! This store captures the creative and pioneering spirit of Shanghai and we’re excited for our customers to visit.