There is a factory in Chongqing. It is unremarkable; there is nothing to distinguish it from the other factories nearby. Workers stream in every morning and out every evening. Smoke belches from its stacks, while trucks and trains trade raw materials for finished goods once a week. There is no reason for the ever-watchful eye of the Chinese government to give it more than a cursory glance.

But this unremarkable factory, which makes unremarkable plates and unremarkable cups, is the most remarkable factory in all of China. In fact, it is the most remarkable factory in all of the world.

Though the building was constructed in 1951, the people inside have been creating magical goods for thousands of years, serving a global clientèle.

For instance, if you needed a completely untraceable weapon, because you wanted to kill your worthless husband, but didn’t have the stomach to pull the trigger yourself, this factory could create for you, at great expense, of course, a hand and a gun for precisely this purpose.