The first destination of our day trip was Rainbow Village.
From the moment we approached Rainbow Village, we were greeted with bursts of color on every surface.
The village felt alive with art. Even narrow passageways were canvases. Doorways, steps and tiles had been transformed into moments of pure delight.
Originally, Rainbow Village was a small residential community built after 1949 for soldiers and their families as part of Taiwan’s military dependents’ villages (眷村). Over time, many such communities disappeared as urban redevelopment swept through Taiwanese cities. However, this village survived which owed its revival to one man, known affectionately as the “Rainbow Grandpa”.
Rainbow Grandpa was a retired military official named Huang Yung Fu. One day, he began painting the drab concrete walls and houses with bright colors, whimsical animals, and cheerful scenes, trying to save the area from demolition. What started as a personal project soon turned into a local sensation, drawing attention for its optimism, creativity, and sheer visual joy.
The site was vandalised in 2022 and remained closed for part of 2023 whilst it was restored and repainted. Huang sadly died in January 2024 and was said to have been quite distraught about his beloved Rainbow Village being vandalized by those who were meant to be employed to protect it.
Today, there were new murals and artworks that were completed by local artist Yang Haiqan, plus teachers and students from nearby Churi’an Elementary School, using local materials from Nantam.
The village was actually quite small and we could have walked through it within 5 minutes. However, due to the fact that it was pretty crowded and everyone was busy taking photos at every corner, we spent about 30 minutes in the village before returning to our tour bus.
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