Welcome to Houtouwan, the fisherman village almost deserted. Yes, almost because there are still 5 people living in this village which is less than the 3,000 inhabitants they used to be.
Credits: Johannes Eisele
Where is it ?
Houtouwan is a village on Shengsan Island which is part of the Shengsi Archipelago, 40 miles away from Shanghai. If you finally find the right ferry that does the connection, it will take about 4 hours travel.
What is it ?
From the 50's, this village used to be full of fishermen but in the early 90's everyone started leaving because of a lack of activity due to the hard competition around Shanghai.
Today, it is a ghost village with abandoned houses swallowed by nature. Most of the houses collapsed through the years. It could have stayed like this, but the few people left found an opportunity of making money with tourism by guided tours and selling water. Thanks to Instagram craziness, this place went viral and is often visited by people looking for a great shot. If you are also looking for a shot of nature, this is the figuration of a proper urban jungle.
The place is essentially conquered by Virginia creeper and ivy, the two most trailing plants that can invade every single corner of this place.
If you want to walk around the village, you will have to pay $8/person.
I was also curious to look inside the houses, so here is what I've found:
Comments