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Shenzhen is China's Silicon Valley.
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It used to be regarded as a workshop of the world,
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but now it's home to some of the most advanced technology
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on the planet and some of the world's most innovative office
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buildings.
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This is a new home of Tencent, China's biggest tech company.
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They're the people behind messaging WeChat, which
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has close to one billion users.
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It's no ordinary company, and this is no ordinary building.
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It's been designed to encourage extraordinary thinking.
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The traditional tower is very good for -
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put your head down, get the work done, all that kind of stuff,
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we know from our own research and experience, that
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doesn't lead to the best ideas.
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The random interaction workplace is a really big deal,
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and it makes a really big difference in terms
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of the output of that company.
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That's why they came up with these sky bridges
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linking the two towers, designed as a place for people to meet.
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It's like going to the water cooler in a conventional office
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to have a gossip, except Tencent workers have
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to come here because it's the only way they
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can switch elevators.
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There are plenty of attractions too,
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from snacks to extreme sports.
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Never seen a climbing wall quite this high.
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It's pretty intense and, you know,
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we wanted to make an impact.
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Because the health of the employee,
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the well-being of the employee, the fitness and employee is
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centre to a successful high performance company,
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which Tencent is.
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It's a little bit intimidating, that wall,
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but it could be quite exciting.
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For a company built around people hunching
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over mobile phones, Tencent appears
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to take physical activity seriously.
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There's a running track that bends around the two
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towers, a basketball court, and ranks of pool tables
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that hint at EU, the English pub,
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but which look like the Hale from a Quangdong factory.
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So the other sort of thing that you always
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associate with tech companies is the bean bags, the lamps.
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Where is all that?
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A lot of companies have moved beyond that.
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In the end of the day, how comfortable are bean bags?
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Clearly the real point of Tencent is work.
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This is a $500 billion plus tech giant,
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combining the services of Facebook, Apple, Amazon,
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Netflix, Google, and even Spotify.
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But the higher like zones of workstations could be mistaken
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for a Manila call centre.
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It really seems just very paired back, absolutely zero frills.
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The sort of utilitarian, almost like here style lamps
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- kind of standard issue plants.
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The building will soon be home to 10,000 people.
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That's 25% of Tencent's workforce.
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From the top, you can pick out other Chinese tech giants
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while enjoying a sneaky cigarette if the running track
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lacks appeal.
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But will sky bridges and ping pong tables really
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bring about the spontaneous gatherings
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that designers claim generate brilliant ideas,
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or will everyone be stuck at their desks
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WeChatting each other from different floors?