The Starbucks Shanghai Roastery is the American coffee chain's latest move to attract prized Chinese customers. The Shanghai outlet claimed Starbucks' highest gross ever on opening day two months ago and is often encircled by a line of people waiting to get in. Our Mi Jiayi checks out Shanghai's latest retail phenomenon.

The Roastery opened in the middle of downtown Shanghai in December, and the lines outside have been the talk of the town ever since. Some say they waited for three hours to get in. Two months after its opening, the popularity seems not to have faded, there are already people visiting the store at 8 in the morning.

MI JIAYI SHANGHAI "Thanks to the Chinese New Year, there's not a line outside. I can't wait to see what's the magic that got so many people willing to wait for hours to get in."

This is what the inside looks like. Surrounded by the coffee smell, my attention was caught by the big barrel in the middle of the two floors- this is where all the roasted coffee beans are stored. This is the first time Starbucks has roasted its coffee beans in China. The beans prepared here will be shipped to the other outlets around the country, instead of having to come all the way from the US as in the past. The company says the shop has the highest transaction volume of all its outlets worldwide, double that of the first Roastery in Seattle.

MI JIAYI SHANGHAI "All the things here are designed to make people stay longer, from the coffee roasting and making, to the souvenirs and gifts related to the company, and the creative drinks and desserts. And if that's not enough for you, you can take an AR tour of the store on your phone."

That's right, in a move to catch up with fast-evolving tastes of Chinese customers, the company uses Augmented Reality technology to allow them to learn more about this outlet, the first of its kind in China. In an email interview with us, Starbucks said China is its largest, fastest growing and most strategic international market.

Starbucks Email Interview: The Shanghai Roastery represents not only our continued investment in our premium Starbucks Reserve brand, it also serve as a halo to the rest of company and help to solidify Starbucks as one of the leading and most admired brands in China. But more importantly, China is a critical to the global economy. Shanghai is one of the most visited cosmopolitan cities in China, and the world, and leads China's consumer trends. It is also our best-served city globally with more than 600 stores.

The company is confident that it will reach its goal of opening more than 5,000 stores in China by 2021. More and more multi-national retail brands are doing just the same thing. MUJI opened its first world flagship store in Chengdu last year, and a hotel in Shenzhen. Disney now has its biggest store in China. Uniqlo's world flagship store is located in Shanghai. One industry expert says Chinese customers are providing an opportunity that many global retailers have not seen in elsewhere in the past.

CUI LILI PROF. "China not only provides a big market for these brands, but also a market to experiment with. We've seen local retailers coming up with new ideas by combining technology and customers' needs, like Alibaba's He Ma store, and Tencent's Super Spicies, and they lead the trend. This environment is very different from other markets around the world."

Fueled by its growing economy, China's 'new retail' trends are finding solid support. No matter what turns out to be the next creation of new retail business, there is a good chance it will launch in China.