Nature taking Chinese village back
HOUTOUWAN, China — Blanketed with greenery, the ghost town is perched atop cliffs looking west into sea mists obscuring the horizon. Abandoned homes ravaged by weather and creeping vines stand silent but for the surf, the whine of mosquitoes, and birdsong.
This is Houtouwan — “Back Bay” in Mandarin — an abandoned fishing village engulfed by nature on the far eastern island of Shengshan, 90 kilometres off the coast of Shanghai.
Small groups of tourists on a recent weekend braved muddy footpaths through overgrown lawns to chase foggy photographs and answers to the question: What happened to the village?
The village isn’t entirely abandoned. Five people still reside here with a relaxed pack of dogs that roam the empty homes.
Sun Ayue lives in a small home just off the main path through the old village. The 62-year old former fisherman remembers the village’s boom times — and the bust.
China is the world’s largest fishing nation. But poor enforcement of fishing regulations has led to a rapid decline in fish stocks.
Yet, Sun says most of the village’s 600 families ultimately left Houtouwan because it lacked proper roads and a school.
“Transportation was inconvenient,” he said, making it difficult for teachers to get to Houtouwan from the main town Shengshan. “It was too far away. They arrived in the dark and left in the dark,” he said.
Houtouwan is “a microcosm of the entire Chinese society,” said Zhao Yeqin, an associate sociology professor at the East China Normal University in Shanghai. The village reflects a broader migration trend that has seen countless Chinese move from rural areas to urban megacities like Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.