An 84-year-old military veteran, 14 years ago in Taiwan, painted a whole government village and saved it from being bulldozed down.
Today, at the age of 98, Huang Yung Fu is very proud that his drawings are still attracting tourists from all over the globe and played a major role in the village’s preservation.
Named the Rainbow Village, this series of small, one-story homes, is part of a city park where the walls are full of colorful drawings of animal and human figures painted by Fu.
The Reason for the Painting Was Originally Fu’s Boredom
When he started to draw on the walls in the Caihong Military Dependents’ Village located in Taichung City, Fu did it out of boredom.
However, he soon realized that the town in which he and his wife called home is risking being bulldozed down so he activated himself and covered every wall, door, gutter, and paving stone in precious and unique drawings.
Today, The Rainbow Village is an international tourist attraction and Fu and his wife are the only residents. They welcome tourists regularly and are happy that their home is enjoying this popularity.
Rainbow Village Became a Tourist Attraction Thanks to the Grandpa Rainbow & Some Good People
Back in 2010, professors and students from the Ling Ting and Hungkuang Universities visited the Rainbow Village and were amazed by the expressive nature of the murals. Thanks to the paintings, this area has been preserved from being bulldozed down.
Moreover, student Charles Tsai brought a group of students and the faculty together and they appealed to the Taichung City Government to preserve this suddenly-created cultural heritage. This led to the creation of the Save Rainbow Village campaign.
After the campaign, Fu became known as the Grandpa Rainbow.
Lonely Planet ranked this unique village as one of the ‘secret marvels of the world’ whereas Culture Trip said it was ‘Taiwan’s most Instagrammable spot’.
Due to the costs involved with the village’s maintenance, the government launched the Rainbow Cultural and Creative Co. that produces that tourist infrastructure and also supplies the paint needed for the continued maintenance of the murals.
Sources: