Is the famous "rainbow village" in Taiwan's Taichung City disappearing? Yes, according to CNN, which visited the site after months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The island, which has reopened its borders and seen a new influx of visitors, should have been able to count on this "rainbow village", star of Instagram, and known thanks to these small homes of veteran soldiers. They were colorful and covered with murals.
Covid-19 changed everything
But in 2022, the vast majority of these paintings disappeared, according to our American colleagues, due to an attempt by the local government to preserve them, which led to the destruction of many works. Looking back, the reputation of this small "village" goes back ten years. At the time, a veteran soldier named Huang Yong-Fu (now 98), began painting modestly on the wall of his house after learning that his home might be destroyed as part of a new housing project.
Soon, images of his house went viral and travelers flocked to the area, so much so that the city had to declare it a "public park". But when the pandemic broke out, the village closed and Taichung Province was determined to modernize brick, straw, and earth walls. Although these works are structural, many of the artworks have been lost.
Restoration, but how?
Frightened by the situation, Huang Yong-Fu, also known as "Rainbow Grandpa" in his neighborhood, called in a man described as "big and mean" and told him that his "life's work" was being destroyed. The local government has calmed the situation down and assured that it intends to reopen the rainbow village, even setting a possible date of the end of January 2023. However, questions remain. A Taichung cultural affairs officer said no clear answer had yet been given on the subject. " We plan to restore it, but not necessarily to its original appearance," he conceded. So the controversy is still far from subsiding.
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