Willy Wonka bundled up the whole Oompa-Loompa tribe and brought them to live in his chocolate factory; I don’t think the 270,000 workers at the Hon Hai factory in Shenzhen, China were at risk of being gobbled up by rotten Vermicious Knids, but they too live in a wondrous place creating items that bring joy to many.  No, not candy, but iPhones, Wiis and Motorola cellphones.  The Wall Street Journal won a golden ticket and took a tour of the facility.

Hon Hai, which operates under the trade name Foxconn, pulled in a staggering $40.6bn profit last year and expects that to increase by a further $14bn this year.  Part of that increase will be down to the iPhone; Apple acknowledge that Foxconn is the supplier of their iconic first-generation cellphone.

On-site, workers live, play and put together electronics.  There are swimming pools, basketball courts, restaurants and and internet cafe; the factory city even has its own TV station, Foxconn TV.  Meals are subsidised while rent is free.

It’s an interesting story if you’re curious about how our growing fetish for electronics is sated, well worth a read.