Beloved bulk-buy emporium Costco held the much-hyped opening of its first China location today — and promptly closed due to the flood of interest.

After holding a private ceremony on Monday, Costco Shanghai opened its doors to the masses on Tuesday, causing traffic jams within a one-kilometer radius of the store’s remote suburban location according to Financial Times reporter Tom Hancock:

sea of people as first ever Costco opens in Shanghai…traffic jams for >1km around store 人山人海 pic.twitter.com/o0g3ZRBOpR — Tom Hancock? (@hancocktom) August 27, 2019

Costco members received a text message at 11:29 AM local time, advising would-be shoppers to avoid peak traffic hours in the afternoon. By 2:13 PM they were shutting it down with a followup text message telling customers not to come.

Dear Member, hello! Due to the crowded in-store traffic, in order to provide you with a better shopping experience, the store opening has been closed as of the afternoon of August 27. Please avoid going.

Videos from the opening that have made their way online, like this one from Chinese news outlet The Paper, do indeed look hectic.

We here at RADII are already proud card-carrying members of Costco Shanghai, and will make it over there for a slice and a year’s supply of wasabi peas… just as soon as the crowds die down. Stay tuned for our on-the-ground report!

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