An inside peek at new iPhones pick-up day in Beijing

After two weeks of counting down the days, Chinese buyers witnessed the arrival of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in stores and at their doorsteps on Friday.

As the largest overseas market for the Cupertino, California-based company, the Chinese mainland is one of the first countries and regions to launch the new iPhones. It's the second time in the phone's history following the unveiling of the prior generation, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

Apple fans wait outside the Apple store in Sanlituan to pick up new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, in Beijing, on Sept 25, 2015. [Photo by Liu Zheng/chinadaily.com.cn]

"I took a night train from Baotou for 11 hours to pick up my new iPhone 6s Plus in Beijing," said Zhang Yubo, who comes from Hohhot, the capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The city is more than 600 kilometers away from the Apple Store in Taikoo Li shopping center in Beijing's Sanlitun area.

"The reason why I'm not choosing door-to-door delivery service to receive my new iPhone is because I enjoy the welcome ceremony hosted by Apple's Genius Bar in the Apple Store," Zhang told chinadaily.com.cn. Being a hardcore fan of Apple products, Zhang said he's always been eager to be an early bird in getting the company's new devices.

"I'm more interested in the 3D Touch function of the new iPhone," Yue Zhenfei, an employee who works in the IT sector, said right after he collected his new iPhone 6s from the Apple Store. Yue said the new function provides a new dimension in terms of operation, which is a technological leap compared to existing smartphones.

According to Apple, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus introduce an entirely new way to interact with the phones. For the first time, iPhone senses how much pressure you apply to the display. In addition to familiar multi‑touch gestures like tap, swipe, and pinch, which are on the Apple Watch, 3D Touch introduces peek and pop. These bring a new dimension in functionality to the iPhone experience.

Rose gold, which is recognized as the only new debut color of the new iPhones, is seen as a hot choice for most of the buyers who appeared in the Apple Store in Sanlitun.

Meanwhile, the 64GB read-only memory (ROM) version is the hot sales product due to an improved iSight camera that will produce bigger-sized photos and video footage.

Though it is only one of four colors available, the new rose gold iPhone 6s is said to be the most popular option for preorders, according to appleinsider.com, citing analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities.

Sales of the new iPhone 6s are expected to ride high on Chinese demand, but some consumers have mixed responses to the closely tracked smartphone, according to previous reports by China Daily.

"It's unnecessary for me to buy one. There aren't that many new functions and I don't like the new case colors," said Zhang Jixuan, a college student in Durham, North Carolina, United States.

Preorders for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were "very strong" and sales are on pace to exceed last year's launch-weekend record of 10 million handsets, Apple said on September 14th.

"Orders may be roughly flat if customers in China are not included in the initial availability," said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos, according to Reuters. Munster is predicting opening weekend sales of as many as 13 million units, with China accounting for about two million shipments.