Apple's first retail store in mainland China closes for good

The Apple Store in Sanlitun, Beijing, opened in 2008 and is going to be replaced in two days by an entirely new flagship in the same area.

Twelve years after it opened as the first-ever Apple Store in mainland China, Apple Sanlitun, Beijing, closes forever at 20:00 local time today (08:00 ET). The store is being replaced with a new flagship store that opens on July 16, following many months of construction.

Twitter user Kevin W has posted images from the store's final days.

Today marks the last day of operation for the first ever #AppleStore in mainland China. Thanks for being around for the last 12 years, truly a milestone. The brand new Apple will be opened on July 17th.@storetellee @MichaelSteeber @9to5mac pic.twitter.com/1S1k6veJI9
— Kevin W (@wukaiyu2011) July 15, 2020

"No matter what kind of talent you have, and no matter how persistent you are, Beijing never refuses to chase dreamers," says Apple in an announcement on its website (in translation). "Now, the new Apple Sanlitun is ready to witness again, all kinds of creativity. All will be able to grow arbitrarily from here and bloom different flowers."

The original store is in Taikoo Li Sanlitun, a large shopping center in Beijing's Chaoyang District, which was previously known as The Village. Apple opened it in time for the 2008 Olympics, and it has been followed since by 41 further stores across mainland China.

The new Apple Sanlitun, which will retain the first store's name, is situated immediately next to the old site. Its design is a close replica of the flagship Apple Store that was opened on Chicago's Michigan Avenue in 2017.

11 Comments

Dogperson 137 comments · 4 Years

About 4 years ago

Beijing never refuses to chase dreamers OR DISSIDENTS.

elijahg 2817 comments · 18 Years

Dogperson said:

Beijing never refuses to chase dreamers

Yeah that is a really odd statement. Chasing dreamers? Maybe a veiled way of saying chasing dreamers down and suppressing them.

ncee 749 comments · 19 Years

Maybe the wrong title?

Apple's first retail store in mainland China closes for good

how about

Apple's first retail store in mainland China closes and moves to a new larger location

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

Click bait warning!

No, the Apple Store is moving to a new store. Nobody is 'closing stores for good'.... sigh....

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

ncee said:

Maybe the wrong title?

Apple's first retail store in mainland China closes for good

how about
Apple's first retail store in mainland China closes and moves to a new larger location

No, no, you don't understand. Headlines are about drawing people in and then clarifying. This headline was designed to infer that Apple's flagship store in Beijing has failed and is closing for good. Once you've been hooked you find out that's not what's happening at all. I think they teach this in modern journalism schools. If your headline suggestion had been used no one would even read the article. See what I mean.