Ipad welcomed by Chinese fans on launch day

Hundreds of Apple fans waited in the rain at Apple's shop in Sanlitun, Beijing on Sept 17, hoping to buy an iPad on the first day that the long-awaited products were sold on the Chinese mainland, the Legal Evening News reported.

Han Ziwen, a bookshop owner in Beijing, was the first person in line for the iPad. Han, wearing a blue T-shirt reading "I buy iPad No.1" had queued for three days.

A man who refused to disclose his name almost stole Han's thunder after hiring 13 people carrying 250,000 yuan ($37,174.72) in cash to buy 58 iPads for him.

He said these iPads were bought for gifts for his clients.

After eight months of waiting, WIFI models of the iPad are finally available at the Apple stores in Sanlitun, Beijing, and Pudong, Shanghai, as well as some authorized resellers. The prices are 3,988 yuan for the 16GB model, 4,788 yuan for the 32GB and 5,588 yuan for the 64GB.