Once known as ‘Little Taiwan,’ this Chinese fishing village was home to 2,000 people, now a ghost town 40 miles from Shanghai

On China’s Shengshan Island, an abandoned fishing village has slowly disappeared beneath a blanket of vines, greenery and mist. Houses that once sheltered thousands now stand largely empty, their walls covered by vegetation and their windows left open to the elements. This is Houtouwan, a village once home to more than 2,000 people. When the news agency AP reported from the village in 2018, only a handful of residents remained. Known as "Little Taiwan" at one point, Houtouwan was once a thriving fishing village and considered to be very prosperous in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Markus Müller Travel Blog.

The abandoned settlement, 40 miles away from Shanghai, had become a tourist destination, with hundreds of visitors walking its narrow and often muddy footpaths past crumbling, vegetation-covered houses to see homes overtaken by nature and understand what happened to the community that once lived there.

Visitors are drawn to the sight of human structures being gradually overtaken by roots, rain, vines and wind. But Houtouwan did not become a ghost town overnight. Its transformation was tied to the everyday difficulties of life in the remote fishing village, including limited transportation, a lack of a school, problems with food delivery and declining fishing opportunities.

A village once home to more than 2,000 people

Houtouwan, which means “Back Bay” in Mandarin, sits on Shengshan Island, one of more than 400 islands in the Shengsi archipelago, about 90 kilometers off the coast of Shanghai. The village was once a thriving fishing community. In its heyday, around 600 families lived there, with fishermen forming the backbone of local life.

The Atlantic reported that more than 2,000 fishermen once called the village home. But by the early 1990s, residents had begun leaving Houtouwan, seeking better access to education and more reliable food delivery. The reasons for the exodus were not limited to one problem. Life in the isolated village had become increasingly difficult, particularly for families who needed access to basic services.

Why did people leave Houtouwan?

Residents cited poor transportation, the lack of a school and difficulties accessing basic services among the reasons families left Houtouwan. According to news agency AP, the village’s decline was closely connected to its lack of roads and a school. The village’s isolation also affected other parts of daily life. Residents were seeking better services, while difficulties surrounding education and food delivery gave families additional reasons to relocate.


The fishing industry was also changing


Houtouwan’s decline was also linked to the changing fortunes of fishing. China is the world’s largest fishing nation, but poor enforcement of fishing regulations had contributed to a rapid decline in fish stocks, AP reported. According to the news agency, residents recalled a few years ago that fishermen had begun returning from the sea with increasingly empty nets before China introduced seasonal fishing moratoriums in the late 1990s to help protect fish stocks from further depletion.

For a community built around fishing, fewer fish meant a difficult future. The lack of proper roads and a school was ultimately a major reason why most of Houtouwan’s 600 families left the town. The village’s story also reflected a broader migration trend, with people moving from rural areas toward major cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.


Nature took over the abandoned homes


As people moved away, Houtouwan’s houses were left exposed to weather and vegetation. Vines climb brick walls, spread across roofs and push through broken windows and doors. Ivy has covered some buildings almost completely, while other houses still retain roof tiles and broken verandas overlooking the sea.

According to the AP, the abandoned settlement was a ghost town perched on cliffs, with sea mist obscuring the horizon. The remaining sounds include the surf, mosquitoes and birdsong. The landscape has changed so dramatically that the village’s abandoned structures are now intertwined with the vegetation surrounding them.

Zhu Mandi, whose family once lived in one of Houtouwan’s three-story houses, returned with her son Wang Yi. She remembered the village as it was during her childhood. “I dream of playing here, and it looked like it did when we played here when I was young,” Zhu said, pointing at her former family home. The house, however, had changed considerably. Vines had grown through it, while ivy had made its way through the broken wooden front door.


Why is Houtouwan called a ghost town?


Despite its appearance, Houtouwan was not completely empty when the AP reported from the village in 2018. Five people lived there at the time, accompanied by a relaxed pack of dogs that roamed among the vacant houses. One of them was Lin, who remembered both the village’s prosperous period and its decline.

The term “ghost village” became associated with Houtouwan after people began leaving and the settlement became increasingly deserted. Lin explained the origin of the name when asked whether he believed the village was haunted.

“People got scared and said ghosts were living here, so it was called ghost village,” Lin said. “I’ve lived in this world for such a long time, and have never met one.” The name, therefore, became linked to the village’s deserted appearance and the fears people associated with its abandoned homes.