A 96-year-old man painted his village in Taiwan as a way to prevent the government from demolishing it; as a result, it attracted many tourists, earning the name “Rainbow Village” for its colorful murals.
Huang Yung-Fu, a retired soldier living in Taichung, Taiwan, turned his village – a temporary housing area that the government gave to soldiers – into a massive art gallery that showcases his artwork.
The elderly was bored one day and decided to paint pictures inside his house; soon after that, he came to the decision to continue working on his art and take it outside of his home, according to Bored Panda.
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After numerous developers bought the land, the village that once had over 1,200 homes is down to only 11. Taichung’s Rainbow Village is one of the many veteran villages that the government built for its veterans between the 1940s and 1950s.
The government created the place, which was then referred to as Caihongjuan Village, for the Kuomintang soldiers and their families when they retreated from Mainland China.
However, after developers bought some of the land in the area, the government decided to demolish the village. But Huang, who had already gained much fame online for the colorful Rainbow Village, prevented this from happening through his work.
The village became one of the most visited tourist attractions in Taichung, which later became the reason for the government to stop its demolition plans for the last few remaining houses in the area.
Despite his age, Huang said that he would continue beautifying the village even when he reaches over 100 years old.
With his positive, colorful, and creative personality, many tourists began to call Huang “Rainbow Grandpa.”
Featured image (left, right) via Instagram / wei_tse, (middle) via Instagram / xtna_javier
