Trekky dream: Chinese millionaire erects $160 million Starship Enterprise HQ

© AFP Photo / STR
This photo taken on May 16, 2015 shows the NetDragon Websoft headquarters building with the iconic circular contours and tubular features of the USS Enterprise, from the US television and film series Star Trek, in Fuzhou, in eastern China's Fujian province.

    

An eccentric Chinese millionaire and apparently one of the biggest fans of the legendary franchise has built his company HQs in the shape of the , where the series' characters explored new worlds in death-defying journeys.

The is located in the city of Fuzhou, Fujian province, south-eastern China. It has circular contours and tubular features like its twin from the franchise.

The spacecraft was built by Liu Dejian, the head of Netdragon Websoft Inc, a Chinese company that develops massive multiplayer online games and makes mobile applications, China's People's Daily newspaper reported as cited by . Liu currently takes 320th place on the list of China's wealthiest businessmen, according to Forbes.

The paper says that "an informed source" at NetDragon confirmed that the building is also called

[embedded content]

It took Liu four years - presumably since October 2010 until October 2014 - and $160 million to build his 260-meter long, 100-meter wide, six-floor 'spacy' brainchild.

Liu bought the USS Enterprise copyright from , the US broadcaster that produced Star Trek. In fact, this is the only officially licensed Star Trek building on Earth.

© Google Maps

    

"That was their first time dealing with an issue like this and at first they thought that it was a joke," said the company in an email to the .

"They realized somebody in China actually did want to work out a building modeled on the USS Enterprise only after we sent the relevant legal documents."

Star Trek fans may now see that the structure, a fantastic homage to the Star Trek franchise, is really neat and looks like its famous twin.