The village of Houtouwan on the Chinese island of Shengshan is very quiet. No cars or buses pass by. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear birds chirping and waves crashing. You might hear a few wild dogs barking, but you won’t hear families talking.

A ghost town is a village that has buildings, but no people. Houtouwan sits on a mountain on the edge of the rough sea. Three thousand people once called this beautiful ghost town their home. Today, only five people live there. Why did everyone leave?

Houtouwan was a fishing town. Fishing boats came in and out of its port. Lin Fazhen is one of the five people who still live in this ghost town. He used to run a fishing store in the village. He remembers fishermen playing games like mahjong when it was too windy to sail their boats.