Visit Houtouwan village, a small village in China that is entirely covered by leaves! It is located on Shengshan Island. Up until the 1990s, the village was home to a thriving fishermen community. There were only about 2000 residents, but they gradually left the village in search of better education for their children and better food supply. Their prosperity was shadowed by the success of nearby Shanghai.
Nowadays there are tourists all year round, despite there not being any tourist attractions, no running water, and no electricity in the village. The paths are also covered in the foliage and are not maintained at all. You can't even buy a bottle of water!
Less than a dozen locals chose to stay. They work as independent tour guides and they're the only source of bottled water and some seafood. They live in this abandoned shell of a village like hermits, close to the urban center of Shanghai yet so detached from it.
If you want to go on a hike around the village you'll need to pack some good walking shoes. In Shanghai, take a bus or ferry from the Nanpu Bridge bus station to Shengshan Isnald, or Gouqui Island, which is connected to the Shengshan through a bridge. This is a 4-hour journey. A taxi will take you straight to Houtouwan village.
