
A new series of fascinating images has offered a rare glimpse inside Chinese telecom giant Huawei's £1.1 billion office complex.

Sprawled across 1.2 square kilometres (296 acres), the glamorous Huawei Songshan Lake Base in Dongguan, south China has redbrick castles, marble mansions, fountains and narrow winding alleys inspired by 12 European cities.

Employees at China's largest smartphone maker are pictured packaging new smartphones at production lines while others enjoy a game of ping pong at the recreation centre or sleep in cubicles under their desks.

A worker packages new smartphones at the end of a production line at the Huawei Songshan Lake Base in Dongguan, China

A Huawei employee looks at his smartphone as he rests in his cubicle in the research and development area after lunch

A new series of images has offered a rare glimpse inside Chinese telecom giant Huawei's £1.1 billion office complex

Huawei workers play ping pong in an employee leisure area at the sprawling 'Ox Horn' Research and Development campus

A replica of Versailles is seen in the Paris zone of Huawei's massive office complex. Occupying 1.2 square kilometres (296 acres) or just a little smaller than London's Hyde Park, the Huawei Songshan Lake Base has redbrick castles, marble mansions and narrow winding alleys - all inspired by the architecture in 12 European destinations that Chinese people aspire to visit

A member of Huawei's reception staff stands at her desk at the Cyber Security Lab at the company's production campus

In the complex designed to host 30,000 employees, there is a Moorish plaza at the 'Granada' Zone, neo-classical buildings modelled from the campus of Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris at the 'Paris' Zone and waterways weaving through the 'Verona' Zone.

Other areas are based on Krumlov in Czech Republic, Fribourg in Switzerland, Bourgogne in France, Heidelberg in Germany, Bologna in Italy, Oxford and Windermere in the UK, Bruges in Belgium and Luxemburg.

All the zones are linked by red tram-trains imported from Switzerland, which run with an interval of five minutes. Cafes and restaurants there serve what is branded as 'authentic European cuisine'.

There are also several black swans that roam the company's headquarters and swim in a special lake. According to founder Ren Zhengfei, the birds are there to represent 'non-complacency within the corporate culture.'

Huawei's new offices in Songshan Lake in southern China's Dongguan city officially entered service on July 1 last year

A garden with 'Welcome to Huawei' spelled out in flowers is seen outside one of the office buildings in the complex

Cafes and restaurants at the mega office complex there serve what is branded as 'authentic European cuisine'

Huawei employees wait in line for lunch at a subsidised cafeteria at the company's Bantian campus

Construction of the European town started in 2014. Its first phase entered service on July 1 last year and more structures are still being built

The Songshan Lake base is officially known as the Huawei Xiliu Beipo Village and is one of the most ambitious projects of the Fortune 500 company.

It's also known as the Ox Horn Campus in English after its distinctive silhouette when viewed from above.

Construction of the European town started in 2014. Its first phase entered service on July 1 last year and more structures are still being built.

The campus now has 12,600 employees. Every morning, dozens of shuttle buses take them from downtown Shenzhen, where Huawei is headquartered, to Songshan Lake, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) away, according to Chinese news outlet China News Weekly.

A display for facial recognition and artificial intelligence is seen on monitors in one of the offices

A worker packs up new smartphone devices at the end of the production line. The Songshan Lake base is officially known as the Huawei Xiliu Beipo Village and is one of the most ambitious projects of the Fortune 500 company

A Huawei thermal engineer performs a heat test in the research and development area of the campus

A security guard stands at a crossing as a train used by employees, clients and visitors passes by near the Paris Station

There are also waterways weaving through the 'Verona' Zone in the billion-pound complex

It is said that Huawei's founder, 75-year-old soldier-turned-billionaire Ren Zhengfei, has always hoped for a creative but casual work environment in an office area that resembles a small town - something similar to what Google or Apple has.

The Ox Horn Campus is currently dedicated to the research and development of Huawei products, including phones and 5G technology, but more workers are expected to relocate there.

Huawei overtook Apple to become the world's second largest smartphone maker after South Korea's Samsung last August. In 2017, it raked in 603.6 billion yuan (£68.7 billion) revenue.

However, the company, who is leading the global transition towards 5G, has faced allegations that its equipment could be exploited by the Chinese government for spying.

A Huawei engineer opens a door of a server unit at the Cyber Security Lab of the company's production campus. The Ox Horn Campus is currently dedicated to the research and development of Huawei products, including phones and 5G technology

It is said that Huawei's founder, 75-year-old soldier-turned-billionaire Ren Zhengfei, has always hoped for a creative but casual work environment in an office area that resembles a small town - something similar to what Google or Apple has

Sprawled across 1.2 square kilometres (296 acres), the glamorous Huawei Songshan Lake Base in Dongguan, south China has redbrick castles, marble mansions, fountains and narrow winding alleys inspired by 12 European cities

A Huawei engineer displays electronic parts of an unspecified device in the research and development department

Huawei has denied the claims, even as American officials have tried to persuade governments and telecoms operators around the world to shun Huawei equipment.

US authorities are also seeking the extradition from Canada of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and Ren's 47-year-old daughter, after charging her with bank and wire fraud related to violation of US sanctions against Iran.

In the future, Huawei workers could apply to live in the European-style town in one of the company's 30,000 flats and other departments will be relocated there, including HiSilicon, a company owned by Huawei that makes semiconductor products, a report on The Paper said.

Huawei is also planning to build an international school in the town, which is set to run classes from kindergarten to senior high level, according to Sina.

Employees and visitors disembark from a train after arriving at the Ox Horn campus

A Huawei employee sleeps in her cubicle in the research and development department offices after lunch

The Ox Horn Campus is dedicated to the research and development of Huawei products, including phones and 5G equipment

Visitors walk by a water fountain in the 'Granada' area inspired by the Spanish city. In the future, Huawei workers could apply to live in the European-style town in one of the company's 30,000 flats

Huawei workers from the Public Affairs and Communications department take part in a training session

In 2017, Huawei raked in 603.6 billion yuan (£68.7 billion) revenue. However, the company, who is leading the global transition towards 5G, has faced allegations that its equipment could be exploited by the Chinese government for spying

While the 'European town' mainly functions as offices for Huawei workers, people can apply to visit certain areas as tourists.

Inspired by pictures and footage of the Huawei town, young people are now flocking to see the glamours office and some say they can 'travel across Europe in one day in Huawei'.

However, it is said that tourists are barred from Huawei's secretive research and development sections in Songshan Lake.

Dongguan, where Huawei's new offices are located, have long been branded as China's 'factory for the world'. The city's factories have been manufacturing handbags, toys, shoes, T-shirts, among others, for worldwide clients as soon as China opened up its economy some four decades ago in 1978.

Dongguan, where Huawei's new offices are located, have long been branded as China's 'factory for the world'

Huawei workers play a team-building game at the end of their lunch break at the office complex

Huawei employees are seen glued to their phones as they wait for lunch to be served at one of the cafeterias

They are also seen enjoying a game of pool after work at the office's recreation centre

Huawei's President Ren has previously told Chinese media that his company's headquarters would remain in Shenzhen, but its offices would gradually spread out.

Ren was quoted saying: '140 years ago, the world's centre was in Pittsburgh because of steel; 70 years ago, the world's centre was in Detroit because of cars; now where is the centre of the world? I don't know, but it will decentralised.

'Companies will move to places where the cost is low, high cost will destroy your competitiveness.'

Huawei workers from the Public Affairs and Communications department take part in a training session

An employee at Huawei's Cyber Security Lab works on his computer. Huawei's President Ren has previously told Chinese media that his company's headquarters would remain in Shenzhen

Huawei employees wait for a shuttle bus at the company's complex to take them back to Shenzhen city

Ren was quoted saying: 'Companies will move to places where the cost is low, high cost will destroy your competitiveness'

Dongguan in Guangdong, where Huawei's new offices are located, have long been branded as China's 'factory for the world'

Roughly the size of London's Hyde Park, the town is designed to be the offices and homes of 30,000 workers

Huawei employees are seen glued to their smartphones as they wait for lunch to be served at one of the cafeterias

Huawei's President Ren has previously told Chinese media that his company's headquarters would remain in Shenzhen

Founder Ren was quoted saying: '140 years ago, the world's centre was in Pittsburgh because of steel; 70 years ago, the world's centre was in Detroit because of cars; now where is the centre of the world? I don't know, but it will decentralised

Huawei workers leave at the end of the work day and head to the trains that would take them back to Shenzhen city

It is said that Huawei's founder, 75-year-old soldier-turned-billionaire Ren Zhengfei, has always hoped for a creative but casual work environment in an office area that resembles a small town - something like what Google or Apple has

Every morning, some 12,600 Huawei employees take dozens of shuttle buses from downtown Shenzhen, where Huawei is headquartered, to Songshan Lake about 50 kilometres (31 miles) away for work

Huawei workers leave their offices and walk to the cafeteria during lunch time in the complex's 'Paris' zone

In the future, Huawei workers could apply to live in the European-style town in one of the company's 30,000 flats

In the complex designed to host 30,000 employees, there is a Moorish plaza at the 'Granada' Zone, neo-classical buildings modelled from the campus of Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris at the 'Paris' Zone and waterways weaving through the 'Verona' Zone

Dongguan's factories have been manufacturing handbags, toys, shoes, T-shirts, among others, for worldwide clients as soon as China opened up its economy some four decades ago in 1978

The office complex also has a gym for its employees. Huawei is also planning to build an international school in the town

Employees take an art class at a recreation centre at the campus. Headquartered in the southern city of Shenzhen, considered Chinas Silicon Valley, Huawei has more than 180,000 employees worldwide

While commercially successful and a dominant player in 5G, Huawei has faced political headwinds and allegations that its equipment includes so-called backdoors that the US government perceives as a national security

US authorities are also seeking the extradition from Canada of Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and Ren's 47-year-old daughter, after charging her with bank and wire fraud related to violation of US sanctions against Iran

There are also several black swans that roam the company's headquarters and swim in a special lake. According to founder Ren Zhengfei, the birds are there to represent 'non-complacency within the corporate culture'

Despite the US campaign against it, Huawei is determined to lead the global charge toward adopting 5G wireless networks

A Huawei employee takes a break at the staff library. The tech giant has more than 180,000 employees worldwide, with nearly half of them engaged in research and development

Construction of the European town started in 2014. Its first phase entered service in 2018 and more structures are being built

Inspired by pictures and footage of the Huawei town, young people are now flocking to see the glamours office and some say they can 'travel across Europe in one day in Huawei'

A Huawei security guard stands outside a gate of the Huawei complex. While the complex mainly functions as offices for Huawei workers, people can apply to visit some part of it as tourists

Huawei is also planning to build a school in the town, which will have classes from kindergarten to senior high level