Exploring Earth's Priciest Abandoned Structures
4. Taiwan's Anping Tree House
Location: Tainan City, Taiwan
Time Period: 1800s
Cost: $1.45 for each visitation ticket
The Anping Tree House, a striking monument to Western colonialism, is gradually being reclaimed by nature. Constructed in the 1800s by the British trading company Tait & Co., this historic site showcases colonial architectural styles that reflect its origins.
Today, the structure is almost obscured by an impressive overgrowth of trees, plants, and roots, creating a unique fusion of history and nature. Visitors can explore this fascinating site for a modest fee of $1.45 per ticket, allowing them to witness the interplay between man-made structures and the natural world.
Taiwan's Anping Tree House
Over time, Anping became deserted, allowing a massive live banyan tree to push through the bricks and concrete of the old merchant's warehouse. This remarkable natural phenomenon has led to a fascinating transformation: the tree's branches and roots have enveloped the structure, preserving the shapes of its doorways, roofs, and walls.
As a result, the entire building has been transformed into a true tree house, where nature and architecture coexist harmoniously. Visitors can marvel at this unique blend of history and ecology, witnessing how the banyan tree has reclaimed the space and created a living monument to resilience and adaptation.
