Apple to open 27th Chinese Apple Store this week in Beijing

Apple will open its 27th Apple Store in China later this week, as an outlet is scheduled to open on Nov. 28 at Chaoyang Joy City mall in Beijing, the capital city's fifth location.

Apple announced the forthcoming grand opening through its Chinese website on Sunday, just one day after opening a brick-and-mortar store in Chengdu.

The Chaoyang Joy City Apple Store is not expected to be a flagship location like Beijing's Wangfujing Street outlet, but rather a satellite that will expand Apple's reach into the sprawling metropolis. The in-mall shop could be similar in scale to the city's most recent Apple Store opening in China Central Mall, which began accepting customers in January.

As with all modern Apple Stores, some sales floor space will be reserved for a Genius Bar and an area for hands-on workshops. A few classes scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 29, still have seats available, including iPad basics, photo editing on Mac and Mac basics.

When it opens this Saturday, the Chaoyang Apple Store will be Apple's 27th in mainland China. The country is Apple's most important growth market, generating $12.5 billion in revenue over the company's last fiscal quarter of 2015, a number up 99 percent year over year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is bullish on China. During a recent quarterly earnings conference call, Cook said he anticipates China to leapfrog the U.S. as Apple's largest market thanks in large part to a booming middle class. To help speed the process along, Apple intends to enlarge its regional retail footprint to 40 Apple Stores by mid-2016.

The Chaoyang Joy City Apple Store will follow the usual Chinese retail schedule with normal operating hours between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. A grand opening event is expected to take place on Nov. 28 at 10 a.m.