The new Shanghai Apple Store is located very close to my office. Therefore, I spontaneously decided to watch the opening of the Store. I came just after it opened and therefore still heard the countdown at 10:am.

In addition to all those people queuing, a lot of bystanders watched the spectacle. The luxury shopping centre directly next to the Apple store is still under construction, but a few shops are already open. I wonder how many people bought a matching LV bag for their new iPad?

Because there were so many people queuing, visitors were only admitted in groups. Each group was frenetically welcomed by the Apple Store employees.

There were a few observers in neutral clothes with “Apple Corp” tags, and a number of photographers taking pictures for apple. Hence the following signboard in front of the store.

Many people took a quick break from their Saturday shopping to snap a few pictures. It seems the Apple Crew shouting “Apple! Apple! Apple!“ caught quite a bit of attention. Almost a bit too much for me…

I decided to take advantage of my local knowledge. The office tower where I work also has a (not very well-known) restaurant witha good view. You can only take pictures through the window there, but at least it gives a good overview of the crowd.

For this Apple Store, Apple chose an interesting location: The store is not located in one of the famous shopping roads in Shanghai, but in the financial district Lujiazui in Pudong. Pudong is the area east of the Huangpu river. Development in this area only started 15-20 years ago. The famous Oriental Pearl Tower is very close to the Apple store, as well as other famous highrises such as Jinmao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Centre. After the opening of Shanghai Expo, it seems a lot of (mostly Chinese) tourists come here. I guess that should provide a solid turnover for Apple.

Three hours after the opening, the queue was still very long. Compared to the queues at the Expo it would have been much less waiting time, but I still decided to look at the store later when there's less of a crowd… At that point in time, the 5000 t-shirts handed out to visitors were gone anyway.

More picture can be found at Shanghaiist and at IFO Applestore.