A village that has become Taiwan’s most Instagrammable place

The residents of Taiwan’s Rainbow Village are not normal humans, but whimsical, brightly-coloured animals. The village is full of vibrant colours, crazy illustrations from the walls to the floor. The 1,000 square metre art park in Taichung, central Taiwan, is an Instagramable point for several thanks to its kaleidoscopic visuals, attracting about two million visitors per year prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although many don’t just visit for its aesthetics, they also love its backstory. It was once on the verge of demolition, but a painting saved it and gave it an, even more, attractive second life.

In the year 2007, Huang Yong-fu — then 84 years old — learned that his home was going to be demolished soon to be sold to developers.

Yong-fu was born in Guangdong province in mainland China, Huang was frequently on the move during his life as a soldier.

He fought in the Second Sino-Japanese War, lived in Hong Kong, then joined the Nationalist army on Hainan Island to fight the Chinese Civil War before retreating to Taiwan with the troops led by Chiang Kai-shek in 1949 following their defeat.

He went on to serve at an airbase in southern Taiwan and finally retired as a clerk at a recruit training centre in Taichung. Since then, he had been living in a military dependents’ village, one of the many communities built to accommodate Nationalist soldiers who fled to Taiwan, as well as their families.

As Yong-fu bid farewell to his home of nearly 30 years picked up a brush and started painting his furniture. This brought to life playful images of imaginative creatures, crawling all the way from his wardrobe, desk, stools to the exterior walls and the neighbours’ abandoned houses.

Little did he know that his fate — and that of his beloved home — was about to take an unexpected turn.

Students from nearby universities discovered his artwork, photos of the colourful buildings went viral online. The 11 houses covered in quirky paintings quickly became a photo hotspot under the nickname of “Rainbow Village,” leading to a petition campaign to save it from demolition in 2010.

The Taichung City government eventually agreed to keep the village and turned it into a public park in 2014. Huang, now 98 and known as “Grandpa Rainbow,” was allowed to stay and continue his daily routine — painting the village and greeting visitors.

Wei Pi-ren, 68, has been supporting Huang since 2010 and shares his vision for the village. “We want this place to be fun, healing and romantic,” he said.

For decades, Wei has been working to preserve the culture of military dependents’ villages and assisting veterans like Huang with hospital visits. When Huang’s younger brother from Hong Kong asked him to look after the veteran and his art, Wei founded Rainbow Creative and recruited young artists and staff to maintain the park.

The company’s art director, 34-year-old Lin Yang-kai, has been painting and studying with Huang for nine years. He is also keen to help the veteran who “experienced wars and separation from his family, but still remains innocent and pure” spread positive energy through his art.

“His wish is simple. “He wants people to enjoy their time here. They can take photos with the illustrations and Chinese blessing phrases and take the happy memories home with them.”

Love and family are repeating themes in the village. Lin believes they reflect what Huang longed for but “was never allowed to have as a soldier during wartime,” explained Lin. 

“The murals are mainly about family, love, success, friendship and health — simple happiness we take for granted and have never fought hard to get. He finds comfort in painting them,” said Lin, pointing to an illustration of a happy family sitting around a dinner table. 

Due to health concerns, Huang is currently living at a separate location and rarely visits the village himself.

Still, Rainbow Village — which no longer has any residents — has developed its own life. It keeps evolving as the murals are repaired and renewed by painters like Lin.

Five years ago, Wei and the team came up with an idea to make sure Huang’s creative energy and spirit won’t be confined by the size of the village or Huang’s health conditions.

“He was painting new things every day and we eventually ran out of wall space. Grandpa Rainbow and our art team have created numerous new paintings on the boards. They can be screwed onto the walls and displayed anywhere anytime in the future,” laughed Wei. To solve the problem, Wei rented a warehouse and ordered customized stone boards for Huang to paint. 

But Wei’s ambition doesn’t stop here. The company plans to bring Huang’s art to more people by building seven Rainbow Villages across Taiwan, representing the seven colours in the rainbow.

“The villages will feature stories and food of military dependents’ villages, and of course, Grandpa Rainbow’s murals,” says Wei.

Source: Agencies