Houtouwan   Location: China

Houtouwan is an abandoned fishing village on a small island off the coast of mainland China. The village which housed a community of fishermen and their families had a population of over 2000 during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, but a new village was constructed on the other side of the island in the 1990s, which was much closer to the main fishing port and other facilities such as schools, so the residents all left, en masse, to start a new life over there.

Now the village of Houtouwan is slowly crumbling as nature reclaims the land. Empty buildings, which are covered in blankets of vegetation, are falling to pieces and signs of their former residents are disappearing fast. Set against a backdrop of turquoise blue waters, it makes for a stunning location to explore and photograph.