Sanlitun Apple Store Pics Are Now LIVE

Thanks to Preston, the pictures I took are safely online. Thanks to Preston for this awesome youtube video he made using my clips:

UPDATE: Newspapers are reporting at least 2,000 people attending the opening. Now 229th in line doesn't sound so bad! Just to tell you, I was 26th into the store. :)

Sanlitun Apple Store

Today was the grand opening of the first Apple Store in China. It opened in Sanlitun at 10 A.M. Beijing time. My grandmother and I got up at five o clock for this event. We got to the waiting room at 7:30, and were given numbers 229 and 230 in line. Apparently, the people at the front of the line came yesterday at 2:00 P.M. 

We waited for about 1 and a half hours inside this huge room, while apple played some new ads for iPod+iTunes on a giant LED screen. Then, we were herded outside to wait in the scorching sun where we waited another hour. Thankfully, the extremely nice Apple employees were there to give us free water and also umbrellas to keep us from dying. 

My grandmother and I eventually pushed up to the front, about 50 people from the front. And there, we waited. Meanwhile, I was spazzing over my twitter feed along with talking to Morgan, a friend who lives in Denver, CO, who is also Preston's friend. Some people came outside, apparently, very important, as people started clapping.

Then, for some apparent reason, the Apple employees inside the two-story building started clapping at us, and we started clapping too. One person shouted, "Kuai Kai Men!" which means, "Hurry up and open" in English.

10 minutes till zero hour, and the entire apple employee staff in the Sanlitun Store came out and high-fived a ton of people. Apple's way of building atmosphere, I guess. Finally, it was time.

At exactally 10:00 A.M. the doors to the store opened and a torrent of people began piling into the store. I got in at 26th in line, not bad for starting out at 229th. The t-shirts they gave out were nice, as are all of Apple's products, Black with a picture of a set of headphones bow-tied on the front, and on the back, white text that said: Apple Store, Sanlitun 7.19.2008. 

While in the store, I video-chatted with Morgan while a TON of people took pictures of us. So, hes pretty much famous now, and so am I. I also got interviewed by YouTube HK, some chinese TV network, and by an Apple person video taping the event.

Pictures are coming soon, along with videos of the event.

For full, minute-by-minute details, go to:

www.twitter.com/eli8527

And look for this post:

eli8527 we're in! and lol. i know 36 min late :) but anyways. awesome place! got free tshirts. gona put vids on utube about 10 hours ago from web

Live blog continues after that post as that is the last post of the blog.

More to come later,

Eric