Traces of human life lingering behind, forms carving their way through the land and sky, objects left in disuse and air that seems frozen in time -- whether morbid or sublime, abandoned buildings and settlements are an object of fascination and intrigue to architects and non-architects alike. As Shanghai-based photographer Jane Qing's photos of an abandoned village on Gouqi Island in China demonstrate, there is a rare kind of beauty to be found in the left-behind and the neglected.
See more photos after the break.
Gouqi Island is a part of the Shengsi Islands, a group of almost 400 islands that comprise part of the Zhousan Archipelago outside of the Hangzhou Bay.
Though Zhousan has relied heavily on its fishing industry in the past, the rise of secondary and tertiary industries such as ship building and repair, shipping, light industry, tourism and service have left many fishing villages abandoned. Gouqi Island houses some of the best preserved villages in the Archipelago, and despite a diversifying economy, the Shengsi Islands remain an important fishery area, attracting over 100,000 fishermen every winter.
