On my previous entry,中 MEANS CENTER,I showed you a bit of台中 (Taizhong) and the beauty of its Rainbow Village…But I didn’t tell you the story behind it though.
Its time for me to share it.
Interested? Follow me :)
Its time for me to share it.
Interested? Follow me :)
The Rainbow village was once an old military dependents’ village in Taiwan, made up of houses built in the 50s, used as housing for war veterans in gratitude of their service.They later became permanent settlements.
In the 90s,Taizhong’s government began an aggressive program to demolish these villages with the purpose of replacing them with high rises and give residents new apartments to live in.
Grandpa Huang ,one of the war veterans,refused to accept such program.He grabbed his paintbrush and used it as a weapon by covering with vibrant, intense colors the walls and pathways of the village.
In the 90s,Taizhong’s government began an aggressive program to demolish these villages with the purpose of replacing them with high rises and give residents new apartments to live in.
Grandpa Huang ,one of the war veterans,refused to accept such program.He grabbed his paintbrush and used it as a weapon by covering with vibrant, intense colors the walls and pathways of the village.
People saw the effort and loved his work so much that they even helped Grandpa Huang save the village.The mayor received tons of e-mails from visitors to preserve it.And because there is strength in numbers,now the Rainbow Village is a famous tourist attraction.It also has a bus station named after it.
Grandpa Huang ,a.k.a Rainbow Grandpa,lives there.I was lucky enough to meet him the first time I visited this colorful place.He didn’t talk much but he had the warmest smile of all.
Oh what a hero!