Rainbow Village

A 94-year-old man from Taiwan has saved his village by decorating it with colourful paintings.

Huang Yung-fu lives in a small village in Taiwan, near Taichung City. Seven years ago he started to paint beautiful paintings on the walls of the houses in his village. Now “Rainbow Village” is famous, and a million tourists come to see it every year.

In 1946, Huang was a soldier in the Nationalist Army. He fought against the Communists in China. But the Communists won, and Huang and many other Nationalist soldiers went to Taiwan. They lived in special villages for soldiers.

The houses in the village were very simple and not very comfortable. Many of the soldiers and their families left and went to live in the big cities. In the end, Huang lived alone in the village.

“I was alone in the village and I was bored,” Huang said. So he started to paint the walls of his house. He painted dogs, cats, planes, mythological figures and famous people like Bruce Lee. When he finished his house, he started to paint the other houses in the village.

People started to come to the village to see Huang’s colourful paintings. Now the village is an important tourist attraction. “I am so happy. I’ll never be lonely with all these tourists,” he said.

Rainbow Village

A 94-year-old Taiwanese man has saved his village from property developers by decorating it with colourful paintings.

Seven years ago, Huang Yung-fu started painting on the walls of the houses of his village outside Taichung City. It is now an important tourist attraction known as “Rainbow Village”, with more than a million visitors every year.

In 1946, Huang was a soldier in the Nationalist Army. He fought against the Communists in China. But the Communists won, and Huang and many other Nationalist soldiers fled to Taiwan, where they lived in special villages for soldiers.

In the beginning there were 1,200 families living in Huang’s village, but the houses were simple and uncomfortable. So over the years many of the families left, and property developers pulled down the houses to build modern flats. In the end, Huang was the only person left in the village.

“I was all alone in the village and I was bored,” he explained. So he started to cover the walls of his house with pictures of dogs, cats, planes, mythological figures and celebrities like Bruce Lee. When he finished his house he moved on to the other houses, and now the whole village is covered with his colourful designs.

Huang’s work of art attracted a lot of attention, and now more than a million tourists come every year to take selfies in front of his paintings. “I am so happy and thankful. I’ll never get lonely with all these visitors,” he said.

Rainbow Village

A 94-year-old Taiwanese man has saved his village from demolition by decorating it with colourful murals.

Seven years ago Huang Yung-fu, a former soldier, started painting elaborate murals on the walls of the houses of his village outside Taichung City, turning it into a major tourist attraction known as “Rainbow Village”, with more than a million visitors annually.

In 1946, Huang joined the Nationalist Army to fight against the Communist troops in mainland China. After the Communist victory, many Nationalist soldiers fled to Taiwan, where they were housed in special veteran villages as a temporary measure.

Although the villages were built quickly with cheap materials, Huang and many other veterans and their families settled permanently in this district of Taichung City, which at its peak consisted of a community of 1,200 homes.

Over the decades the veteran village became run-down and many of the families moved out, accepting offers of compensation from property developers. Eventually the once thriving community was reduced to 11 houses, with Huang as the only surviving resident.

At this point, Huang started to paint. “I was the only person left in the village and I was bored,” he explained. Having painted the walls of his two-bedroomed house with images of dogs, cats, planes, mythological figures and celebrities like Bruce Lee, he moved on to the other remaining houses, covering walls and even the pavement with his brightly coloured designs.

Huang’s ever-expanding artwork attracted the attention of local university students, who started a campaign to save the village. Government officials have agreed to preserve it and other remaining veteran villages as sites of historic interest. “I was so happy and thankful,” Huang said. He hopes to continue painting until he is 100 and never tires of the crowds of tourists taking selfies in front of his paintings. “I’ll never get lonely with all these visitors,” he commented.