All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E18.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und]

[narrator]
An Appalachian dream

that conjured the spirit
of the Old West.

The romance of cowboys
and lawless frontier towns

are etched
into the American psyche.

[narrator] A sky-high solution

to a ground-based problem.

[Meigs] One Soviet TV station
described Chiatura

as the Venice of the air.

[narrator] And an island
of simple means stranded

[narrator] And an island
of simple means stranded

by a revolutionary tide.

[Selwood] It was a brutal time

of mass incarceration
and murder.

[narrator] Decaying relics.

Ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past.

Their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

In Maggie Valley,
North Carolina,

set high
in the Appalachian Mountains,

is a ruin that once promised
fun and adventure.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
There's what looks
like an old western town.

There's a main street
in the middle,

and on either side
there are general stores,

saloons and even a jail.

[Bell] America's full
of deserted towns

[Bell] America's full
of deserted towns

and this place is high up
in the mountains,

so it could be the remains
of an abandoned mining town.

But somehow this feels
a bit different.

[narrator] That's because this
is a world of make-believe.

[Dr. Landdeck]
When you really look, it's
very clear this is not old.

None of this is real.

It's just been made
to look old.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
The real giveaway is
this massive structure

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
The real giveaway is
this massive structure

that was obviously
a roller coaster

and there are
different amusement rides
throughout the place,

so this was a theme park

but what happened to it?

[Bell] Inside there are
smashed up arcade machines,

there's a stage for performers

and the costumes have
all been left out

which suggests
that people upped and left
here in a hurry.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
A theme park with no people is
spooky and eerie,

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
A theme park with no people is
spooky and eerie,

and some of the locals
even say it's cursed.

Which begs the question,

why did everyone leave?

Why did it close?

[narrator] Dave Angel lives
in Maggie Valley.

As a child, he loved
nothing more than a day out

at this much-treasured
attraction.

[Angel] This is
a magical place

to everybody
that grew up here.

I have vivid memories
from five, six years old

I have vivid memories
from five, six years old

all the way up
till I was a teenager

coming up here to see
friends that would perform
and dance up here

and family members.

[Bell]
When this theme park opened,

it was
the largest tourist attraction
in the area.

And it was all made possible
by one man with a dream.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
The original owner was
Ronald Braxton Coburn

and he was inspired to build
a Wild West theme park

after visiting a number
of abandoned ghost towns,

real ghost towns,

on a family vacation.

on a family vacation.

[narrator] The idea
of a Wild West theme park
wasn't exactly new,

but this one, perched
on the side of mountain

at around 4,600 feet

was certainly unique.

[Bell] Now, that's
almost a mile high.

Hence it's nickname,

the mile-high fun park.

'Cause that's
exactly what it was.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
Construction started
in September of 1960

and it was an enormous task
to say the least.

and it was an enormous task
to say the least.

To accomodate
the Old West town,

they had to literally shave
about 50 feet of dirt and rock

off the top of this mountain.

[Angel] It took
200,000 plus feet of plywood

to build this town.

Over 20,000 pounds of nails

just to construct
what was here.

People believed
in this vision though.

[narrator]
Coburn called his creation
Ghost Town In The Sky.

[narrator]
Coburn called his creation
Ghost Town In The Sky.

When finished it was
the highest Wild West
theme park in the world.

Yet for the guests
that came here,

the magical journey began
at the foot of the mountain.

[Angel] So, this is
the ticket booth.

This is where your day
at Ghost Town
would get started.

Big space here where people
would start lining up

early in the morning,

waiting in line
to grab their tickets.

In its heyday,
thousands of people would come
up to Ghost Town.

In its heyday,
thousands of people would come
up to Ghost Town.

[Bell] The only way
to get up there was

by a chairlift
or a funicular train.

I mean, what a great way
to start the day.

The higher you climbed,

the more
your anticipation grew.

[narrator] At the summit,

visitors were transported
to another world.

[Dr. Landdeck] There was
a mining village

where they could pan for gold.

There was what they called
an Indian village

where they could learn
more about indigenous life.

where they could learn
more about indigenous life.

But the most popular by far

was the Old West town.

So, this is
the Silver Dollar Saloon.

Back in the day
this room would have filled
with customers

wanting to see a cancan show.

There'd be a table over here

with gunfighters
playing cards.

A gentleman
would be playing piano

with some kind
of ragtime music.

And the cancan dancers
would come out on the stage

And the cancan dancers
would come out on the stage

and dance
for everyone's entertainment.

[narrator] But what the guests
really came for

were the daily
staged gunfights.

They waited all day to see it.

It would happen at high noon.

And when it happened
the explosions from the gun

and the bang bang bang...

It was just so loud
you could see
the kids jumping.

Somebody would drop
their ice cream.

Somebody would grab
their mom's leg.

It was just a thrill to see
live action gunfight

It was just a thrill to see
live action gunfight

right here in town.

[Dr. Landdeck] The idea
of the Old West is
so important to Americans.

It's just one of those ideas
of strength and independence.

And it all gets wrapped up
in this mythology

of a cowboy and his lassos
and his hat.

[narrator] Coburn also had
some other tricks
up his sleeve

[narrator] Coburn also had
some other tricks
up his sleeve

to tempt
Wild West-loving visitors in.

[Dr. Landdeck]
One of the tools Coburn used
was he brought in

well-known actors of the day

to be there
signing signatures.

[Bell] One of the most
well-known celebrities

to come up here was
Burt Reynolds.

In fact, the reason he left
was when he got a part
in the movie Deliverance.

[narrator]
Ghost Town In The Sky was
a roaring success

and by the 1970s was
regularly attracting

and by the 1970s was
regularly attracting

over 500,000 visitors a year.

[Bell] Things were
going great.

So great in fact,
Coburn sold the park in 1973.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
After he sold the site,

the number of visitors started
to decline quickly.

This park was Coburn's baby,

and he didn't really like
the direction

where it was going.

[Dr. Landdeck]
And his son actually says

that he'd wished
he had never sold it.

that he'd wished
he had never sold it.

And so in 1986,
Coburn buys it back.

One of the first things he did
was to add more attractions,

including this roller coaster
that's quite spectacular

and called the Red Devil.

[people screaming]

[Angel] It was amazing
to come whirling down
this roller coaster,

making this loop and looking
way over the valley,

looking at
the Blue Ridge Parkway
over there.

[narrator] Coburn's investment
seemed to work,

[narrator] Coburn's investment
seemed to work,

and people started coming back
in huge numbers.

For the next few years
the park continued
to be a success,

but then suddenly
all of that changed.

[narrator] In the mountains
of North Carolina

is an Old West theme park.

For 40 years it was
one of the state's
biggest attractions.

But as the new
millennium dawned,

it turned out
frontier town gunslingers were

no longer the draw
they once were.

[Dr. Landdeck] Cowboys had
just lost their appeal.

Those old westerns were
something your parents did

and grandparents did,

not what the young people
of the 2000s wanted
to be doing.

[Bell] Visitor numbers
continued to fall,

and Coburn just didn't have
the money

to keep up the maintenance.

[Dr. Landdeck] In 2002
the chairlift got stalled

stranding passengers
for over two hours.

stranding passengers
for over two hours.

This was kind of a last straw
for Coburn.

[Angel] After the incident
when the chairlift broke down,

he knew then it was time
to put the park up for sale.

[narrator]
For the next five years

Ghost Town's gates
.remained closed

It was in desperate need
of renovation

and the high-maintenance costs
made it a hard sell

to prospective buyers.

In 2007 the park reopened
under new ownership.

In 2007 the park reopened
under new ownership.

They poured
$38 million into it

creating new rides,
attractions, shops
and restaurants.

[Dr. Landdeck] Even
with all that investment,

even with wanting
it to succeed,

they were just papering
over the cracks.

All those old problems
returned.

[Angel] In 2009
the roller coaster ultimately
failed some safety tests,

and that was the point
where it was decided

it's just not worth
the investment
to continue to have

the Red Devil Cliffhanger
as an attraction.

[Bell] Things weren't getting
better here.

If anything
they were getting worse.

And certain locals
started to claim

that the place was cursed.

[narrator] In 2012
a new set of owners tried
their luck,

but quickly found they were
fighting a losing battle.

[Dr. Gutierrez-Romine]
Perhaps the most
disturbing event happened

in July of 2013 when one
of the veteran gunslingers

was actually staging a routine
and was shot and wounded

with what he said was
an actual real bullet.

with what he said was
an actual real bullet.

[Bell] This understandably
caused a lot of controversy.

And obviously it's
something that should
never have happened.

Shortly after,
the park was closed,

and it's never reopened since.

[narrator] In 2021 Dave Angel
was part of a team

that purchased the site.

that purchased the site.

[Angel] Ghost Town is
a magical place.

It never felt like this park
was ready to close.

[narrator] The new owners are
under no illusion

about the size
of the challenge ahead,

but it's one they are
ready for.

[Angel] The Ghost Town
that's here today

probably won't be
the Ghost Town of the future.

We'll be building something
that's a little newer, safer,

but we'll still bring
that feel and vibe
that people love to see

when they walk the streets
of Ghost Town.

[Bell] Nostalgia is
a powerful commodity,

so there is hope.

Ghost Town In The Sky can come
back from the dead.

[narrator] In western Georgia,

high above the urban sprawl
of Chiatura

is a puzzling relic
from the country's
Soviet past.

[Meigs] You see
a spider web network

of old rusting steel cables.

of old rusting steel cables.

Some of these cables
run up to the tops
of the steep cliffs.

Others crisscross the town.

[Dr. Mabry]
Everywhere you look there's
a cable line going somewhere.

It's not exactly clear
what these are for
or why they're there.

[Auerbach] At first
you might think
they're power lines,

but then you notice
that there's cable cars
hanging off the wires,

so these were clearly built
for transport.

[Meigs] The cable cars look
like something you'd find
at a ski area,

but there are
no ski slopes here.

but there are
no ski slopes here.

[narrator]
The concrete remains
of a bygone era

betray the town's
true origins.

[Meigs]
The whole area has a strong
industrial feeling to it.

This was not a place
that people went for vacation.

This was a center of industry.

[Auerbach] Something is
still being produced here,

and perhaps that's a clue

to the original purpose
of this site.

[Meigs] There must have been
a very good reason to invest

to invest so much

in building this elaborate
transportation network.

[narrator]
In Chiatura, Georgia
are the remnants

of a unique Soviet system
of cable cars.

They were intended to solve
a very specific problem.

-[Dvalashvili in
foreign language]
-[translator] This used to be

a functional building
for 65 years
for the cable car,

and it was the oldest
cable car station

in the former Soviet Union.

in the former Soviet Union.

[narrator] Giorgi Dvalashvili
is an assistant professor

at Tbilisi State University.

When he was young,

the city of Chiatura was
his playground.

-[Dvalashvili in
Georgian]
-[translator] In my childhood,

I frequently used
to take this cable car
with my friends.

We would go up to look over
and see the views,

and it was the most favorite
cable car ride for us.

[narrator] The cable cars were
originally installed

[narrator] The cable cars were
originally installed

to overcome the town's
extreme geography

of steep-sided cliffs
and river gorges.

What motivated their creation
was a valuable commodity

crucial to the production
of iron and steel.

[Meigs]
In the late 19th century

prospectors found
large deposits of manganese

in the cliffs above this town.

[Dr. Mabry] Manganese was
an essential ingredient
in making steel.

[Dr. Mabry] Manganese was
an essential ingredient
in making steel.

So, without it

you don't have one
of the most fundamental
building blocks

of the modern world.

[narrator]
In 1872 mining began,

and the region was
swiftly transformed.

[Auerbach] Chiatura quickly
became the most prolific site

for the production
of manganese ore,

responsible for about 50%
of the world's supply.

[narrator] A fact
that didn't escape
the attention

of Bolshevik leaders
in Moscow decades later.

of Bolshevik leaders
in Moscow decades later.

[Meigs]
After the Russian Revolution

the Soviets began
expanding their reach

and incorporating territory.

They took over Georgia
in 1921,

and almost immediately
set about nationalizing
all the industries.

By the 1950s

the officials in charge
of mining in this district

recognized they had
a huge transportation problem.

[Dr. Mabry] The daily trek
up to the mine

was costing the company
valuable production time.

By the time
the miners arrived at work,

they were already exhausted

dreading the journey
back home.

[Meigs] At the same time
their jobs were
absolutely brutal,

and miners sometimes
would sleep in the mine shafts

'cause it just took too long
to get back to their houses.

[narrator]
A solution was needed

that would improve
both the lives of the workers

and boost the mines output.

These are the rope roads
of Chiatura.

A transportation network
that connected

almost every corner
of the town.

[Auerbach] The cable cars
were the brainchild
of the mine owners.

They realized if they could
get workers from the town

to the mining sites easier
and with more convenience,

they could convince
more people to work here.

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[translator] To be a miner
did not necessarily mean

to do only hard work.

Of course, it was always hard,

but there was also a reward

with reasonable payment
and insurance.

[Dr. Mabry] By 1954 there were
17 different lines operating

not just to transport people
to the mines,

but civilians all around town.

Of course the mine workers
traveled for free,

but everyone else had to pay.

[narrator] The ropeway system
was a resounding success,

and the town flourished.

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[translator]
During the Soviet time.

life in Chiatura was
at a high level.

It was a developed town,

the factories were
all working,

the sport life was active

and for any young person
there were opportunities.

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[narrator] Soviet rule
didn't just bring
prosperity to the region.

[Meigs] One of the hallmarks
of Soviet communism was

focus on ideology,

and children were to be
raised up as true believers.

They developed
a program called
the Young Pioneers

that was closely modeled
on the Boy Scouts.

-[Dvalashvili in
Georgian]
-[translator] I can say

that the fact
I later became a geographer

was inspired
from this building

as it was such a source
of creative learning.

I want to also say
the negative side
of pioneerism

I want to also say
the negative side
of pioneerism

was that you were supposed
to be obedient

to the Soviet ideology.

But this was quite normal
anyway for that time

in the whole Soviet Union,

and we also were part of it.

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[narrator] Despite being
guided by the hand

of their communist overlords,

the people of Chiatura
never had it so good.

All that was about to come
crashing down.

[Meigs] The economic decline
was so sudden and so dramatic

that, in many cases,

the power plants would
just stop working,

[narrator]
In the Georgian city
of Chiatura

is a relic
from the Soviet era.

A unique system of cable cars

designed to transport workers
from their homes

to the manganese mines
in the mountains above.

[Meigs]
Because it was producing
such a vital material

for the Soviet Union,

Chiatura became
something of a boomtown,

Chiatura became
something of a boomtown,

and the workers were
very highly valued

-[Dvalashvili in Georgian]
-[translator] Everyone was
busy and had something to do.

Each had his own mission.

It was like this
30 to 35 years ago,

but today it is
a very different situation.

[people shouting]

[narrator] After the fall
of the Soviet Union in 1991,

Georgia declared independence.

Civil war ensued
which devastated

the already unstable economy,

plunging the country
further into chaos.

plunging the country
further into chaos.

[Meigs] In some cases
the electric power
would just go off

for hours or days at a time.

It was very difficult
to keep mines operated
in those conditions.

The mines began to shut down,

and the people began
to move away.

[translator]
The people used to live
in these blocks of flats

during the Soviet time.

But then when
the migration process started,

the residents moved out
for resettlement
in the other territories.

Thus, the blocks of flats
became empty.

Thus, the blocks of flats
became empty.

Also, they were not
stable constructions anymore,

and they were too dangerous
to live in.

[narrator]
Now the mines lay idle.

The rope roads of Chiatura

gradually ground to a halt.

[Dr. Mabry] During the '90s,

no one maintained
or repaired the cable cars.

There were actually
more pressing priorities

for the country of Georgia.

In 2019 they finally made
the decision to shut down

almost all
of the rusting cable cars,

almost all
of the rusting cable cars,

and replaced the routes
with buses.

[narrator] Today,
the mines of Chiatura

are still operational,

but the industry is
a pale shadow
of its former self.

That hasn't stopped
Giorgi staying positive

about the future
of his hometown.

[Dvalashvili in Georgian]

[translator]
Chiatura is my pride.

[translator]
Chiatura is my pride.

It means a lot to me.

I was born here.

Tourism will save
the future of this town

in the same way
as the manganese ore did
in the past.

Tourism is
one of the main requirements

for its survival.

[narrator]
In the English Channel

on the small island
of Guernsey,

a terrible truth lies buried
beneath the ground.

[Prof. Wawro]
Guernsey is the second biggest
of the five Channel Islands,

lying in the sea
between Britain and France.

[Bell] It's a tranquil place
with quaint villages

and a rugged coastline.

[Dr. Nusbacher] Then
in this lush countryside

you see
the massive entranceway

into something underground.

[narrator] The only way
to discover the secret
this doorway guards...

is to pass through.

[Prof. Wawro] You descend
into these interminable
long tunnels

just hewn out of the rock
and going on forever.

[Dr. Nusbacher] As you move
through the
dim light,

you start coming to side rooms
off the main corridor,

and you see bed frames,

you see
ordinary-looking furniture.

It looks like a dormitory
or a barracks or something.

[narrator] How did
it come to pass

this huge complex was built
by an invading foreign power

in an area
of the British Empire?

[Bell] Many people might be
surprised to learn

that a part of Britain was
occupied by the Nazis
in the Second World War.

[narrator] Paul Bourgaize is
custodian of this site,

[narrator] Paul Bourgaize is
custodian of this site,

and has been working
to protect it

for the last four years.

He first explored
the vast tunnel system
as a child.

[Bourgaize] The place was
very, very daunting
as a little kid.

You know, damp, dark, wet.
Very gloomy.

So even though you can't see
a lot from ground level,

obviously when we get in here
you can see how vast it is.

75,000 square feet.

75,000 square feet.

A mile and a half literally

if you walked
on every chamber,

every tunnel.

[Bell] Construction
on this subterranean network

started at the beginning
of the Second World War.

[Prof. Wawro] It's hard
to believe that at one time

there was a massive
military presence there.

[narrator] The Channel Islands
are closer to France,

but they have been
under the protection
of the British Crown

since 1066.

In the early days
of World War II,

In the early days
of World War II,

Britain's war cabinet made
a decision

that would seal the fate
of the island's people.

[Prof. Wawro]
When the German's invaded
France in 1940,

the British had
to make a decision.

Do we defend
the Channel Islands?

And Churchill decided
they're indefensible.

They had no strategic purpose.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
So the British government
gave up the Channel Islands,

including Guernsey,

to the Germans.

[narrator]
Yet Hitler was convinced

[narrator]
Yet Hitler was convinced

the Allies would attempt
to recapture the islands

despite being abandoned
by the countries sworn
to defend them.

Hitler had this idea
that he had to cling
to the Channel Islands,

so he embarks on this massive
construction program
of fortifications,

underground weapons
and ammunition storage,

everything he would need
to use these island bases

as a way station on his way
to an invasion of England

or his outworks
for his defense

of German-occupied Europe.

So, work started in 1942

and really went on
for three and a half years

right through
the occupation of Guernsey.

It was the largest
single sort of structure built

on the Channel Islands
during World War II,

so huge scale.

Originally this part
of the tunnel was designed
as an ammunition store

so you see effects
in some of the chambers

with this asphalt
to waterproof it.

You can see in the center

where the tracks
would have been.

They were using
a narrow-gauge railway

to move the ammunition.

to move the ammunition.

[Prof. Wawro]
And the Channel Islands
become the home

of what was known
as Hitler's island madness.

At one point on Guernsey,

you've got
12,000 German troops
on the island

which is one German soldier
for every two inhabitants.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
At a time when conflict was
at its maximum,

what was the most
heavily fortified place

on planet Earth?

It was not Moscow.

It was not Moscow.

It was not Berlin.

It was not Washington.

It was the Isle of Guernsey.

[narrator] And the price
of such an ambitious
building project

had a tragic human cost.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
They used a combination

of highly qualified,
well-paid professionals,

and volunteers...

and slaves.

[Prof. Wawro]
And the slave laborers came
from France, from Belgium

from Poland, from Russia

and Spain for the most part.

[Bell] They lived
in various camps

scattered around the island
in horrendous conditions.

Many died of malnutrition
or overworking.

Some had to use
their bare hands

to excavate the solid rock.

Slaves were given
a simple choice...

work or starve.

work or starve.

[narrator] By 1944
the Nazi war machine's
initial success had waned,

and the Allies were readying
to strike back.

In anticipation
of the offensive,

Hitler's forces transformed
this site

into something else entirely.

[Dr. Nusbacher]
They had to be prepared

for defending the islands

against a prolonged assault,

and that meant
a lot of casualties.

and that meant
a lot of casualties.

[narrator] In Guernsey are
the remains

of a Nazi fortification

built to defend
the occupied island
from Allied attack.

In 1944 circumstance dictated
it be repurposed

to deal
with an imminent threat.

[Bell] The tide had turned
in the war,

and the Allies were preparing
to launch a massive offensive

and the Allies were preparing
to launch a massive offensive

and regain territory
from the Nazis.

They expected bloodshed
and so decided

that the tunnels would
better serve as a hospital.

This was the main
operating theater.

You see the scrub rooms there
to our right, those sinks.

And then we have
our triage room at the end,

so all the treatment
was happening in here.

[Bell] It was large enough
to house up to 500 patients,

[Bell] It was large enough
to house up to 500 patients,

and included facilities
such as an X-ray room,

dispensary, laboratory.

They even had a cinema.

[narrator] The countdown
to invasion had begun,

and Nazis soldiers stationed
on Guernsey

were braced
for the anticipated attack.

The Allies had other ideas.

[Dr. Nusbacher] So,
the western Allies hit
the beach in Normandy

on the 6th of June, 1944.

It's D-Day.

The largest operation
of any kind probably ever.

The largest operation
of any kind probably ever.

And the amphibious forces

sweep past the Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are
not important

to defeating Germany.

Therefore the Channel Islands
must wait to be liberated.

[Bell] But wounded soldiers
injured in France
were brought here,

[Bell] But wounded soldiers
injured in France
were brought here,

and the hospital
was put to use.

[narrator] After D-Day,

the French were soon freed
from their Nazi oppressors

For the Channel Islanders
still under German occupation,

the consequences were grim.

Guernsey, still in the hand
of the Germans,

was cut off
from the rest of Europe.

[Prof. Wawro]
The Germans are unable

to bring stuff in and out,
including food,

and so the people are
on the brink of starvation.

in those last months
of World War II.

in those last months
of World War II.

[narrator] On May 9th, 1945,

two days
after the Germans surrender

the people of Guernsey were
finally liberated.

The Nazi hospital
no longer of any use

was quickly abandoned.

[Dr. Nusbacher] The war was
hard everywhere,

and it was especially hard

on that little green
gem of an island
in the English Channel.

[narrator] It's been
over 70 years

since the Nazis imposed
their will on Guernsey.

And for Paul Bourgaize,

his mission is to make certain
no one ever forgets.

[Bourgaize] Those people
that were living
through the occupation

will sadly soon be gone,

so we need to preserve
these structures

as a legacy to that
and the struggle
that they went through

through five years
of occupation.

through five years
of occupation.

[narrator] Fifty miles east
of Shanghai, China

the small island of Shengshan

rises boldly up
out of the East China Sea

[Selwood] It's remote
and mountainous,

and at first
there doesn't seem
to be much here.

Just the odd road snaking
through the hills.

[Prof. Mitchell] As you get
closer you see

[Prof. Mitchell] As you get
closer you see

a village that looks like
it's clinging to the cliffs.

Some of the buildings are
in tatters

while others look like
they're being remodeled.

It's all very strange.

[Meigs] The buildings are made
of concrete.

They're one or stories.

So it's obvious that this is
not some ancient village.

It's something that was built

probably within
the last 70 or 80 years.

[narrator]
The settlement's size suggests

a substantial population
once thrived here.

[Selwood]
Furniture and belongings,
though decaying,

bare testament
to a previous life.

[Meigs]
Any time you see a place

where people used to live

and then they left,

we're always curious
what drove them out.

Why did they decide
to abandon what looks like

a pretty idyllic place
to live?

[narrator]
This village weathered
one of the darkest periods

in China's history.

[Selwood] Husbands and wives
turned on each other.

Children turned
on their parents and teachers.

Children turned
on their parents and teachers.

[narrator]
But there was one change
it could not survive.

-[Fu in foreign language]
-[translator] This is
the only road

to get to the ghost village.

There's around 400 steps.

[narrator] Fu Yuanfan was
once a resident

of this now
deserted community.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
When I was younger
there wasn't much to do.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] We go to school
and play after school.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
Our fathers go out to sea.

Our mothers take care
of housework.

Life was hard,

but in way they were
simpler and happier times.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[narrator] When Fu grew up,

he followed
in his father's footsteps,

and became
a part of the industry

that brought wealth
to this remote island.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] Since I was 16
I started fishing.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] On a typical day,
I would get up at 3:00 a.m.

When there's a lot of fish,
I would get up at 2:00 a.m.,

stay out
until the sun goes down,

then go home.

[Prof. Mitchell]
China is the world-biggest
fishing nation,

and this village was
all at the heart of it.

[narrator] This is Houtouwan,

a once affluent settlement

built on the ocean's
generous bounty.

built on the ocean's
generous bounty.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
This was my house.

There were four of us.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] It was me,
my youngest sister

and my parents
who lived here.

My room was
on the second floor.

Every morning I look
out of the window

and check if there's any wind,

check out the weather.

If the weather's bad,
I can sleep in.

I know I won't go out
to the sea to fish.

I know I won't go out
to the sea to fish.

If there's no wind,
I have to get up immediately.

[Meigs] At its peak
the village probably was home

to 2,000 to 3,000 people,

and almost everyone there was
there because of the fishing.

[Prof. Mitchell]
People all over China knew
about its reputation,

and they came here to settle.

[Selwood] And you can
just imagine how alive
it must once have been

with fishing boats bobbing
up and down.

[narrator]
Houtouwan was riding high

[narrator]
Houtouwan was riding high

and the sea was providing
a good living for all.

But a storm was brewing
on mainland China

that threatened to destroy it.

[Selwood] It was a brutal time

of mass incarceration
and murder.

[narrator] On Shengshan Island
is a deserted village.

At one time
it was the pride

of a thriving
Chinese fishing industry.

In 1966
a deadly tide swept in.

The cultural revolution was
launched under the direction

of the Chinese
Communist Party chairman
Mao Zedong.

[Prof. Mitchell]
And what Mao Zedong really

[Prof. Mitchell]
And what Mao Zedong really

wanted to do,
wanted to accomplish,

was to rout out
people considered
bourgeois infiltrators.

[Meigs] You had students
denouncing their professors,

sometimes beating
them to death.

You had husbands and wives
denouncing each other.

You had children turning
against their parents.

[narrator] Houtouwan,
as an affluent community

of entrepreneurial fishermen,

did not completely escape

the cultural revolution's
destructive reach.

the cultural revolution's
destructive reach.

[Meigs] One facet
of Chinese communism is

deep distrust
of individualism.

So farms were collectivized.

Raising your own plot
of tomatoes or rice was
really discouraged.

By the same token,
the Chinese government tried

to reorganize the way
the fishing business worked.

And as happened
in so many other parts
of the economy,

that ultimately made
the whole process
much less efficient.

[narrator] The fate
of this successful village
hung in the balance.

[Prof. Mitchell]
The collectives
really didn't work.

In fact, they led
to a lot of infighting
among the people.

[Meigs] Why go out
and fish for 18 hours

if your share is going to be
the same as your neighbor

who only went out and fished
for eight hours.

[narrator] But as Houtouwan's
fishing community grappled

with the changes forced
upon their industry,

with the changes forced
upon their industry,

the architect
of the cultural
revolution died.

And with Mao's death
came fresh opportunity.

[Meigs] As the cultural
revolution faded,

so did some of these
government controls

over how different fishermen
could operate.

[Prof. Mitchell]
Ironically, Mao wanted
to strengthen communism

and what it led to was
a strengthening of capitalism.

-[Fu in Mandarin]
-[translator] When I was
23 years old,

Houtouwan was liberated.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] After two years
I got married.

I worked even harder
to catch bigger fish.

My motivation was
to buy a house.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[Meigs] Some of the people
in Houtouwan got

more prosperous than others,

and for a time
the village did very well.

[narrator] Tragically,
the newly found freedoms had

[narrator] Tragically,
the newly found freedoms had

an unforeseen consequence.

[Selwood]
As fishing technology
began to advance,

the stocks of fish
in the East China Sea

began rapidly to decline,

and the prosperity
of the people,

which was built on fishing,

gradually slipped away.

[Prof. Mitchell]
Big trawler ships came
in with advanced sonar,

and in this little harbor,

these tiny fishing boats
simply could not compete.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
We didn't deplete the fish.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
It was radar netting

and Wenzhou people's
trawl netting

that caused damage
to the fish community.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
The way we catch it,

it doesn't harm
the system that much.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[narrator] In the 1990s
the government in Beijing

finally decided to act.

[Prof. Mitchell] China imposed
seasonal moratoriums

to protect fish stocks
which were becoming depleted.

to protect fish stocks
which were becoming depleted.

But it really was
too little too late.

-[Fu in Mandarin]
-[translator] We realized
our children and grandchildren

won't get rich here.

They won't have any prospects,

so we decided to move out.

Wherever there's a future,
we move there

[Selwood] By 1994
almost everybody had left,

and only a handful
of villagers remain today.

[Prof. Mitchell] They renamed
the village Wurencun

which means
"no-person village."

[narrator]
After the chaos
of the Mao era,

China transformed
into an economic powerhouse,

second only
to the United States.

Fu embraces the opportunities
the modern country provides

despite being forced to leave
his old life behind.

-[Fu in Mandarin]
-[translator] Our standard
of living is

-[Fu in Mandarin]
-[translator] Our standard
of living is

so much better now.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator] We didn't want
to catch fish anymore.

It's a tough business.
It's extremely tough.

[Fu in Mandarin]

[translator]
So we tell our kids,

"You must study.
That's the only way
to change your fate."