Vines climb old stone walls, weave through windows and doors and creep along crumpling paths. In an abandoned village which has been reclaimed by mother nature, there is no sign of life other than the animals, birds and insects which have taken over.

Time stands still in the village on Shengshan Island - one of almost 400 that make up the Shengsi Islands to the east of China's Zhejiang province. What was once a thriving fishing hub has been long deserted and naturally transformed into a green jungle of tangled plants and neglected buildings.

In Paris, you might be surprised to find a beautiful 19-mile belt of neglected green space in the centre of the city, which has lain abandoned since 1934. Now it is a treasure trove for graffiti artists and nature-lovers, and the people of Paris are passionate about saving it.

In another set of pictures, the shifting sands of the Namibian Desert have totally taken over a formerly opulent mining village built in the middle of the desert by wealthy Germans seeking their fortune. Now the only visitors are tourists and ghost hunters.

But the pictures all share one theme - that once nature finds a way, it soon takes over and transforms the space into something compellingly beautiful.

(dailymail.co.uk)