A man walks past a new Apple Store in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, Jan 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

JINAN -- Apple is to open its first store in East China's Shandong province, according to the Apple website.

With a population of nearly 100 million, Shandong has the third largest provincial economy in China.

China is Apple's second biggest market after the United States.

The US electronics maker set a target of 40 stores on the Chinese mainland in 2016.

The store will be at MixC Shopping Mall in Qingdao, a prosperous port and tourism city. The store will open on Jan 30.