Note: The article was first published on TechNode China written by Evan Huang and translated by Zinan Zhang.

The Apple store in Jing’an district is still designed by the renowned British architectural firm Foster+Partners, which previously designed Apple’s new headquarters in California and created many innovative stores for Apple, such as the floating sphere in Singapore (Apple Marina Bay Sands), the Italian flagship store with a water curtain, and the bamboo-surrounded flagship store in Macao.

As the eighth Apple retail store in Shanghai, the opening of this store signifies that there are 57 Apple Store retail stores in Greater China. The opening of Apple Jing’an district store undoubtedly injects new vitality into Apple’s retail business in China.

The inspiration for the logo of this new store comes from the city flower of Shanghai, the magnolia, symbolizing the city’s innovation and pioneering spirit. The opening of this new store further solidifies Shanghai’s position as an important market for Apple’s retail business. Since the opening of the Pudong distric store in Shanghai in 2010, Apple’s retail business has made significant progress in Shanghai. Over the past 14 years, the seven retail stores in Shanghai have served over 160 million customers, and the online store has also attracted a large number of visitors.

Apple has had a 31-year development journey in China, achieving significant success in the Chinese market and establishing deep connections with local communities. The Apple Jing’an district store is no exception. Previously, Apple has been inviting local artists, musicians, and creative individuals to participate in activities, showcasing and teaching their creative processes, further enriching the shopping experience for customers. The Apple store in Jing’an district will continue this tradition of engaging with the local community.

This new Apple store has over 150 well-trained employees, including hearing-impaired individuals, musical theater actors (part-time), retired university professors, and etc.  In addition to Mandarin Chinese, the team is proficient in English, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish, and Malay for communicating with customers. Employees can also speak 25 dialects, providing personalized service to Chinese customers from all over the country. Additionally, nearly one-third of the team members are from Shanghai, providing them with a deep understanding of the city and its residents.

On March 12th, Apple announced on its official website that it would expand its application research laboratory in China to support product manufacturing.   Apple stated that it would enhance the capabilities of its research center in Shanghai to provide support for reliability, quality, and material analysis for all product lines. Later this year, Apple will also open a new application research laboratory in Shenzhen.

In fact, despite the increasingly competition in the Chinese market, Apple still believes that this market holds significant opportunities worth cultivating, which is also the signal conveyed by this new store.