Apple opens its eighth store in Shanghai on Thursday. [Photo by Gao Erqiang/chinadaily.com.cn]

Apple officially opened its eighth store in Shanghai on March 21, in its latest push to ramp up sales in the world's second largest economy.

The store is located on West Nanjing Road in the Jing'an district in central Shanghai and faces the landmark Jing'an Temple.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, showed up at the store on March 21 night, with long lines of Chinese consumers waiting outside for hours to be among the first to enter the store.

The latest Shanghai move augmented Apple's local retail network to 47 stores in the Chinese mainland, second only to the United States.

Apple said the new store is encircled by an exterior plaza that gives the community a gathering place for special events, as well as providing a one-of-a-kind shopping destination where customers can discover and buy Apple's lineup of products and services.