Apple Store Hangzhou China
Pedestrians walk past a billboard featuring Apple's logo and Chinese calligraphy in front of a new Apple store to be opened in February in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Jan. 5, 2015. Reuters

As part of Apple’s expansion in China, the company pulled the wraps off its West Lake retail store in Hangzhou Tuesday. It’s one of five stores Apple plans to open in the country before Chinese New Year, Apple's retail chief, Angela Ahrendts, told Cnet.

Prior to the unveiling, the West Lake store was shrouded with white barriers bearing a red Apple logo and a Chinese poem painted by calligrapher Wang Dongling. But before the barriers were removed, Apple posted a video on its website to commemorate Wang’s calligraphy.

The two-story retail space resembles the tech giant's new flagship store being built in San Francisco’s Union Square, designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners. The firm is also responsible for the design of Apple’s “spaceship” Campus two, currently under construction in Cupertino, California.

Over the next two years, the company plans to grow its retail presence in China from 15 stores to 40, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in October.

The first of the five stores opened earlier this month in Zhengzhou. Though the wraps have been removed from its West Lake store in Hangzhou, it’s not open just yet. Apple plans to officially open the retail space this Saturday, Jan. 24, at 9 a.m. local time.

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