Business News

Photos: An abandoned Chinese village has been reclaimed by nature

A tourist walks between buildings completely covered with plants.
A tourist walks between buildings completely covered with plants.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
By
Helen Donahue
We may earn a commission from links on this page.

The abandoned village of Houtouwan, a fishing village east of Shanghai on the island of Shengshan, was once home to over 2,000 fisherman and their families. Throughout the 1900s, families left the island for opportunities offered by mainland cities, and by 1994 Houtouwan was empty. Today, hundreds of tourists pass through daily, lured by tales of the town’s vine-draped buildings.

A former resident who is engaged by the local government to assist visiting tourists arrives in the abandoned fishing village.
A former resident who is engaged by the local government to assist visiting tourists arrives in the abandoned fishing village.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
Tourists walk between buildings covered with vines.
Tourists walk between buildings covered with vines.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
Plants grow on houses.
Plants grow on houses.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
Vegetation grows through an open door of a house.
Vegetation grows through an open door of a house.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
A woman takes pictures as morning mist covers the abandoned fishing village.
A woman takes pictures as morning mist covers the abandoned fishing village.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
Tourists visit the abandoned fishing village.
Tourists visit the abandoned fishing village.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj
A building which is covered with leaves is seen through broken windows of an empty house.
A building which is covered with leaves is seen through broken windows of an empty house.
Image: Reuters/Damir Sagolj