The Rainbow Village, Taiwan There’s a small neighborhood bringing a splash of color to the city of Taichung, Taiwan. It’s known as Rainbow Village. Bright and vibrant, the artwork on the walls and floors is just as fascinating as the history behind it. Originally a military housing complex, the village was built to accommodate Chinese nationalist soldiers and their families who fled after the civil war in the 1940s. Huang Yung-fu is one of the veterans who moved into the village after retiring from the military in 1978. Originally from the outskirts of Guangzhou, mainland China, Yung-fu fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War and joined forces with the Nationalist army to fight the Chinese Civil War before fleeing to Taiwan. What was once meant to be a temporary settlement for soldiers and their families became permanent. The residents of the village slowly began moving out, leaving Yung-fu as one of the last remaining inhabitants. In 2008, the government had plans to demolish the settlement and ordered all remaining people to evacuate the premises.
Everyone had obeyed the evacuation order except for Yung-fu. That’s when he decided to pick up his paintbrush and add some color to his house by painting a bird on the wall. His inspiration kept flowing, and once his walls were full, the paint started pouring out of his windows and into the streets and the other houses of the village. With his mystical and psychedelic creations, he managed to bring the village back to life. As his art expanded, he attracted attention from local youth, who started a campaign to save the village from being demolished after learning his story. News of the rainbow village spread across the nation, and Yung-fu became affectionately known as “Grandpa Rainbow.” A few months later, the government decided to stop the demolition plans and preserve the village as a public park, which now attracts millions of tourists every year. Now, at the age of 98, Grandpa Rainbow continues his legacy through his brother, Wei Pi-ren. Pi-ren founded the Rainbow Creative Co. and assembled a team to help maintain the village and keep the power of his brother’s creations alive.
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