The wait is over, the Shanghai Apple store is officially open -- and it has the crowds to prove it.

At 10am the cylindrical 40-foot glass store entrance next to Shanghai’s International Financial Center (IFC) Mall threw open its doors to the cheers of the thousands of fans who waited in a line which circled the plaza, all under the watchful eyes of the 175 blue-clad Apple store employees.

Cheering as they came upstairs to greet the crowd, the Apple employees, ascended from the underground store -- Apple’s 295th and now the largest in Asia -- like cheerleaders, yelling: “This is Apple! We are apple!” and then “Apple Shanghai 等你來” [Apple Shanghai waits for you to come.] The employees interacted with the crowd handing out high fives before starting a wave with those waiting in line.

Who needs to watch World Cup action when there’s an Apple Store opening?

Fully stocked, the 1,500 square meter-store offers a wide variety Macs, iPods and iPhones for customers to play with, as well as the world's largest Genius Bar. The store also features China's first Briefing Room for free business workshops. Product prices at the Shanghai stores are the same as those at the Beijing store, Apple’s first China store which opened in the summer 2008.

The first person on line was 27-year-old, Jilin Province native who goes by the name 企鵝 (Qi'e, Penguin). He had been waiting over 60 hours by the time he entered the store. Once Qi'e had secured his place in line, he was able to leave for up to an hour at a time to get food or use the restroom.

Well, was it all worth it?

“To be first in line for the Apple Shanghai store opening has been by dream,” Qi'e says. “When the Apple Beijing store opened, I missed it because I was sick, but here I can fulfill my dream of being the first person into the Apple Store.”

Although he wasn’t sure which item he would play with first, he was just happy to be there. “It’s about feeling the atmosphere of the opening, because this is by far the biggest and best Apple Store in China.”

Apple Store openings are frequently reserved for the company’s young fan base who are happy to stand for hours on line. However, one member of the Shanghai crowd stood out, 81-year-old Shanghai native Mr Gao. He had only waited a few hours, but he was welcomed quickly inside by Apple employees happy to see the enthusiasm spread to China’s older generation.

As for why he braved the crowds and Shanghai’s infamous summer heat to see the store, his answer is simply, “I heard so much about this place, I just wanted to look around.”

For those who still can bring themselves to hop over the river -- or brave the crowds we’re sure will inhabit the store for weeks to come -- a second Shanghai Apple Store is under construction in Hong Kong Plaza and is rumored to be opening later this summer with a possible third Shanghai store to follow.

相關報道（轉自新聞晨報）

今天上午，距離蘋果浦東旗艦店開幕還有10分鐘，幾十名身著藍色T恤的店員就已出現(xiàn)在浦東下沉式廣場，繞著蘋果柱歡呼“Are you ready？ Apple ShanghaiGoGoGo”，引發(fā)了整個廣場“蘋果迷”的轟動。

蘋果浦東旗艦店計劃今日上午10點開業(yè)，但記者早上8點趕到店門口時，就已經(jīng)是里三層外三層了。記者目測了一下，大概有2000米長的隊伍。而其中最瘋狂的當屬來自延吉的齊先生，他已經(jīng)在這等候了三天。 “我非常榮幸能夠作為第一個體驗的人。 ”齊先生自豪地舉起了他001號的等候號碼。

店員向記者介紹，昨晚就已經(jīng)有300多名“蘋果迷”在此等候了。

上午10點，店門終于對“蘋果迷”敞開！首批顧客在店員們的歡呼和簇擁下走進了店內(nèi)，剛剛還空空如也的店內(nèi)瞬間歡聲雷動。