Houtouwan

These brilliantly overgrown walls appear to have been left out in the weather for many years. In reality, the tiny Chinese fishing village of Houtouwan has been reclaimed by nature in less than thirty years. 1 About 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the coastal metropolis of Shanghai on the mainland, the island of Shengshan is located on the furthest curving edge of an archipelago of islands in the East China Sea.

It is connected by a bridge to its neighbor, the smaller island of Gouqi, although the only ways to get there are by bus and ferry or by private boat. From the mainland, it takes hours to get to each. Therefore, it makes sense that the village's abandonment in the 1990s was mostly influenced by its isolation.

Where there used to be brick and mortar, the city's walls and streets are now shimmering with vegetation, and the walls are covered with climbing vines. The stepped homes will soon be completely absorbed by nature, as if they had never existed at all.

• Country: China