I have a growing curiosity - since finding out about the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 - if there are any other cases that involve similarities. I set to the internet looking - not quite sure what for - but what I did find was so interesting! Not long, I found a site called 'Web Urbanist' and it talks about series of abandoned places and cities from Europe to America. I always thought that governments have the ability to cover up major disasters and weird happenings, but I had no idea such amount was hidden from the public eye! There was listings of '100+ Abandoned Buildings, Places and Property' - from abandoned theaters to missile soils. But I thought I'd stick to a page named the 'Seven Abandoned Cities of the World'. There was actually a page two, which meant there was 14 wonders, but I took the most interesting and fascinating to make my own 7 wonders to share.
The first completely fascinated me, the fact that there was and is hardly any information about it and the fact most of my family had no idea what happened showed that even at the time (in the 80's) the disaster was covered. The place is in rural Taiwan called Sanzhi and the abandoned part of this town is called 'Pod City' or 'UFO houses'. It was built by the government for a relaxing, modern resort for upper-class people. Wikipedia says 'It was built in early 1981, but construction of the futuristic resort ceased after a series of fatal accidents. Even though it never opened as a vacation resort, the UFO houses can still be toured. The strange pod-like buildings act as a tourist attraction', other then the fact all the locals believe it is haunted and there are various of ghost stories, that is basically all you can find out about the place. I'd defiantly have a tour of the place, there are records of various people who have visited it, and they talk about the various squatters, poor craftsmanship for the location's weather and the fascination with what really happened there. But when it comes down to it, if even the locals have no clue, then perhaps we'll never know.
The second was mainly because I have a slight interest in the type of houses, so my eye was drawn to them immediately. The state is Detroit and there is an area where the population has decreased by half in 50 years and the shells of a community remain to fade within the empty landmarks. The difference with this abandonment is that Detroit's population are passionate on re-building the state and defending it's culture in one part- which by all means is great, but the empty community still stands: the empty churches, schools, houses and factories. No one has attempted to clean the place. Here are some photos I chose, but just search 'abandoned Detroit' and there are tons of creative, reflective and voyeuristic photos displayed.
Gunkanjima - meaning Battleship Island - is commonly known by the name 'Hashima Island' or 'Ghost Island'. It is situated off the Japanese coast, and was once known for having one of the highest population densities in the world - is now deserted. The island lasted from 1887 to 1974 and was made for coal mining primarily, in fact this island became a sort of slave island as the Japanese increased labour on the mines, even taking children out of school to mine. In 1960, when petrol replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country, and Hashima's mines were no exception. Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine in 1974, and today it is empty and bare, which is why it is called the Ghost Island. I believe for a while the Island was off limits to public, however slowly the Japanese has allowed more tourists and visitors. Although structures are now starting to fall down and becoming a danger of high risk. In contrast, the island has inspired many a game and artist, bands have shot music videos and promotion photos there and games like 'Forbidden Siren 2' have featured the island within them. Always an upside.
3 down 4 to go. The year of 1974 is when Turkish forces invaded Cyprus, tearing up the island causes tourists and citizens to flee the city of Varosha. it was immediately wrapped in barbed wire and to this day, military surround it. However, because of this extremely spontaneous evacuation Varosha has been preserved in both dust and time, keeping the very moment it was abandoned untouched. Varosha was a thriving tourist attraction, with large extravagant hotels, where even the celebrities aimed to spend a week or two. Again, not much is said about the captured town, like why it is still fenced and guarded by the military, but because the lack of care and repairs to the hotels, they are slowly crumbling: windows breaking, metal corrodes, nature reclaiming the area as plants grip around the structures. It also has been spotted that sea turtles have been seen nesting on the deserted beaches. Will Varosha ever be a bustling beach like it was before?
Balestrino in north Italy, again is an abandonment with hardly any recordation. No one is quite sure of when the town was established, but the earliest notification of a population was in the eleventh century, but the earliest records of the population was in 1860 when 800-850 people lived there- farmers taken advantage of the landscape of olive trees. In the late 19th century the north-west coast of Italy (where Balestrino is located) was struck by many earthquakes, one of which in 1887 which destroyed a couple of villages and damaged Balestrino. The only record of the abandonment was in 1953 where it was said the town was left due to 'geological instability'. The population at this time of 400 people moved to safer ground in the west, and that was the end of Balestrino's short life.
Bodie, California - the authentic American ghost town started as a mining settlement, booming into a town attracting thousands because of the discovery of nearby mines. 1880 boasted a population of 10,000 with 65 saloons - including even a Chinatown! Resources in this town proved fatal. In 1961 Bodie was designated a National Historic Landmark, becoming a state park, a year later all remaining residents moved on. Today, Bodie is preserved in a state of decay, summer visitors can walk deserted streets witnessing the goods shops present still intact.
Lastly is Kawloon Walled City in Hong Kong, a city that was under the authority of both China and Britain but neither governments managed the 33,000 residents that lived in the 6.5 acre city. It grew dramatically without rules, leading to high rates of prostitution, gambling, drug use and unlicensed doctors and dentists. Some areas were even cut off entirely from natural light and air. However, even though the city was thriving in crime, more residents took comfort within the city walls and lived peacefully and numerous small factories and businesses ran smoothly. In 1963 the governments tried to demolish some shacks in a corner of the city, but this lead to a rise in an "anti-demolition committee'. Charities, religious societies and welfare groups were gradually introduced to the city, but schools and clinics were left unregulated. Finally the governments put an end to the city, evacuating it and demolishing the site. It's quite amazing how long it lasted to be honest - looking so frail and compact!
So there's my 7 wonders, from mine camps to random evacuations, it's weird how a city stands one day, but the gone next. You learn something new everyday.
