Houtouwan Village

Houtouwan was a fishing village of some two thousand people on the steep eastern side of Shengshan Island, built in stone terraces down a slope to a small harbour. Difficult access, poor water supply and the decline of local fishing emptied it through the 1990s, and once people left, the vegetation took it: creeping fig and ivy have covered walls, roofs and window openings so completely that the houses read as green mounds in the shape of buildings. Photographs of it circulated widely from around 2015 and turned it into a destination. A viewing path was built, and the village is now entered on a ticket with routes marked to keep visitors out of unsafe buildings.

History

Houtouwan was founded in the 1950s and grew to more than 2,000 fishermen in some 500 homes. From the 1990s people left for the mainland - the village was poorly connected, short of schools and jobs, and its fishing could not compete with Shanghai's - and only a handful remained by 1994; by 2002 it was empty, and as the greenery took over it became a tourist attraction, with some former residents coming back each day to work there (Wikipedia, Houtouwan).

What you'll find

• The green houses - stone buildings entirely covered in creeping vegetation.
• The terraced layout - the village stepping down the slope to the harbour.
• The viewing path - the marked route through and above the ruins.
• The empty harbour - the small bay the village once fished from.

When to go

May to October, when the vegetation is fullest and ferries most reliable; the green is thickest in summer and thins in winter. Typhoon season can cut access. Weekends and holidays are busy.

Before you go

Getting there involves a long ferry and local transport, often the best part of a day each way from Shanghai. Buildings are unstable and access inside is restricted. Facilities on site are minimal, and the village is a short visit for a long journey.

Nearby

Shengsi's other islands are close; Shanghai lies northwest across the water.

Key facts