9. Reflecting the transience of our own existence, the Shengsi Islands of China have been retaken by nature after only a couple of decades of abandonment
Part of the Zhoushan Archipelago, the Shengsi Islands are a chain of islands located south of the mouth of the Yangtze River. Comprising a total of 394 small islands, just 18 are inhabitable, the largest of which is Sijiao Island measuring just 21.2 square kilometers. Administered by the Chinese government, these isolated islands enjoy a subtropical climate free from the corruption of human influence. In a perfect example of the inevitability of nature, the abandoned fishing village of Houtouwan, situated on the northern side of Shengshan Island and 40 miles east of Shanghai, artistically presents the future of mankind.
Once home to a thriving fishing village, with a population exceeding more than two thousand active fishermen in addition to a wider community, Houtouwan was abandoned in the 1990s due to sustainability concerns. In the years since, greenery has retaken the village in an impressive display of natural reclamation. Houses are coated in fauna, whilst the streets of the previously bustling township are barely visible. Although becoming a tourist attraction in recent years, Houtouwan’s regression into nature reflects the impermanence of our own species in the face of natural planetary forces.