A crowd of Apple fans line up hours in advance to be one of the first to enter the the largest Apple store in Aisa, located in Wangfujing, Beijing. [Xinhua]

Apple's largest store in Asia and also the world's newest one opened at Beijing's coomercial street of Wangfujing on Saturday, drawing throngs of Apple fans.

The store is Apple Inc.'s third in Beijing and its sixth on the Chinese mainland. The other two stores are in Sanlitun and the Xidan Joy City.

John Browett, Apple's senior vice president of retail, had previously said that the new store is the company's largest store in Asia, with an area of 2,300 square meters and more than 300 employees.

Among the usual features, Apple's Wangfujing location boasts a central winding glass staircase spanning the store's three stories, two 360-degree Genius Bars and a facade dominated by glass.

A full range of accessories for Apple products is available in the store, according to Browett.

Hundreds of Apple fans had lined up hours before the store opened at 9 a.m.

"We will bite the 'Apple,'" said one customer.

Apple currently has 390 retail stores around the world, and the company is stepping up its efforts to expand its presence in China.

Browett said a store in the south China city of Shenzhen is also about to open and there will be more stores across China in the future.