Houtouwan
Abandoned fishing village in China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Houtouwan (Chinese: 后头湾; pinyin: Hòutóuwān) is an abandoned fishing village and tourist attraction on the northern side of Shengshan Island (Chinese: 嵊山岛; pinyin: Shèngshān dǎo), one of the Shengsi Islands, a chain of nearly 400 islands[1] located 64 kilometres (40 mi) east of Shanghai, China.[2][3]
Houtouwan | |
|---|---|
Houtouwan at dusk | |
| Coordinates: 30.727°N 122.82°E | |
| Country |  China |
| Region | East China |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+08:00 (CST) |
History
The village was established in the 1950s and was once home to more than 2,000 fishermen and 500 homes.[4] By the 1990s, the population began to rapidly decline due to lack of adequate connection to the mainland, education, and job opportunities.[4] The fishing community could not keep up with the growing competition in Shanghai, causing the fish dependent community to migrate to the mainland for better prospects.[5] Only a handful of people remained in the village by 1994,[6] and by 2002, the village had been depopulated,[7] although in 2015 a few people were known to reside there.[6]
Since its abandonment, the once-bustling village has been overtaken by greenery,[1] and it has become a "popular tourist attraction" which has resulted in some former residents returning each day to work at the village.[4][6]