"Rainbow Village" by Huang Yun-Fu: how to make a tourist object out of a dying village

The problem of dying villages is relevant not only for the post-Soviet countries. But if in our country people leave villages out of desperation, then in other countries the main reason for the disappearance of the private sector is rapid urbanization. This is clearly seen in the example of Taiwan, where megacities annually absorb several villages. Huang Yun-Fu, a resident of the Taichung suburb, entered into an unequal battle with this phenomenon and won.

Unlike other opponents of urbanization, who prefer demonstrations and protests, former military Huang Yun-Fu went a different, creative way. He turned his native village into a wonderful art object, which no one will raise a hand to destroy.

Huang is not a local in Taiwan — he lived in China and served in the Hong Kong army fighting the Communists. After the victory of Mao's supporters, he, like many of his fellow soldiers, was forced to leave his native places and settled on the island. The Taiwanese authorities provided the refugees with temporary housing in the village, but, as often happens, it became permanent for former soldiers and their families.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Taichung began to devour Yun Fu village - instead of miniature houses, buildings made of glass, steel and concrete began to be erected here. The old soldier was the only resident of the suburb who did not want to change his house to a standard apartment in a high-rise building.

Left in proud solitude among a dozen miraculously preserved buildings, an elderly man, in order to occupy himself with something, began to paint his house. Over time, having got into the taste, Juan also took up the neighboring empty buildings, and then decorated even the paths between the houses with paintings.

Now a new attraction has appeared in the modern metropolis of Taichung — the "Rainbow Village", which is visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year. The owner of this splendor is already 100 years old and it is difficult for him to maintain order in the open-air museum on his own, so Juan is helped by students of the local university. The guys not only decorate the village under the guidance of Yun-Fu, but also actively promote the art object on Instagram.

Unwittingly, tourists from all over the world also help them in this matter, who actively post photos of an unusual attraction on social networks, which, perhaps, has no analogues anywhere.

Despite the fact that the city authorities have so far accepted the existence of the "Rainbow Village", it is too early to say that it is completely safe. The young assistants of the old soldier are sure that the more people know about this unique place, the more chances there are to save it from destruction.