Apple officially opens a store in Jack Ma's hometown [Photos]

A promise is a promise. And for Apple, there's no better way to start the new year than by opening stores in China, where they hope to open more than 15 and reach a total of 40 within two years . But for now, they've begun with the official opening in Hangzhou , the hometown of Alibaba 's Jack Ma.

Much media attention and a stir from users has been caused by what is now becoming the largest Apple store in Asia in the city famous for its large lake.

This is just one of the five stores that Tim Cook has promised to bring to China , one of the major markets the company plans to conquer despite its devices being labeled as US spyware by the Asian government.

The following images show the atmosphere experienced by users in Hangzhou before the official opening of the store and after purchasing their devices.