A retired soldier turned painter to save his village from destruction.
Taiwanese village called Rainbow Village lived an old man named Huang Yung-fu. Every morning, he wakes up early and spends hours painting colourful murals on the walls like pavements and windows of the village.
It all began years ago with a single painting on his bedroom wall. Now the entire village is covered with his paintings. This made rainbow village a popular tourist attraction.
Huang Yung-fu, never learned to paint, when he was 86 years old, he started to paint. In just 10 years he completely changed his village by covering with his colourful art, it looks like a beautiful fantasy world.
“Ten years ago, the government threatened to knock this village down,” Huang said, daubing red lines on a walkway as crickets chirped through the dark. “But I didn’t want to move. This is the only real home I’ve ever known in Taiwan, so I started painting.”
Huang Yung-fu, a Chinese man. He faced a tough life. As a young man, he fought in both the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. When the communists won the war against the nationalists, Huang had to leave China to go to Taiwan.
After serving many years in the Taiwanese military, when he was injured, he retired and moved to a village in Taiwan.
When he was 86, he started to make his village colourful with his art. He loved painting and made the village very colourful and happy. Most of the visitors come to the village to see his artwork and take pictures with Huang Yung-fu. They affectionately call him “Granpa”.
“When I came here, the village had 1,200 households and we’d all sit and talk like one big family,” Huang said, looking out of his bungalow window. “But then everyone moved away or passed away and I became lonely.”
In 2008, the Government informed that they’re going to demolish the village. Everyone in the village left. Huang, who had no family, stayed behind.
“People were amazed at this artist’s passion and touched by students trying to help an old man,” said Andrea Yi-Shan Yang, chief secretary of Taichung’s Cultural Affairs Bureau. “As news of ‘Grandpa Rainbow’ spread, it soon became a national issue. He had our entire society’s attention and compassion.”
Many people wrote emails to the mayor of Taichung to ask him to save the village. The mayor listened to the people and decided to keep the village as a public park.
“It touches people’s hearts looking at this man’s work and hearing his story. It wasn’t a violent protest. He wasn’t asking for any help. He just loved his home,” Yang said.
Even after saving the village, Huang still wakes up early and starts painting. This is a habit he picked up from his time in the military. “There are many things that I can’t do anymore, but I can still paint,” Huang said. “It keeps me healthy, and adding a little colour can turn something old into something beautiful.”
Huang’s paintings are inspired from his childhood memories. He paints things he loved as a child, like his dog, his teachers, and himself playing with his brothers. Painting keeps him feeling young and happy.
“People who come here sometimes compare his art to Spanish painter Joan Miró or Japanese animator and film director Hayao Miyazaki,” said Lin Young Kai, a staff member at Rainbow Village who helps Huang. “He just paints what he feels and what he remembers.”
Huang never married. but when he was in the hospital, he met a nurse and fell in love. They got married and lived together in Rainbow Village.
“Ever since I met her, only my lungs hurt,” Huang said. “My heart is better.”
Though he passed away at the age of 100, his legacy lives on through his vibrant paintings.
