Taichung’s Rainbow Village, created by amateur artist Huang Yung-fu (黃永阜), was one of two Taiwanese destinations listed in Lonely Planet’s Secret Marvels of the World guidebook last month.
The village, known for its vibrant colors, received international recognition from two other sources this year.
It ranked third in an online survey by Japanese travel agency H.I.S. asking Japanese netizens to rank photo-worthy destinations in Taiwan that they wanted to visit the most.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
British lifestyle Web site Culture Trip included the Rainbow Village in its “10 Most Instagrammable Spots in Taiwan.”
In response to his sudden rise to fame, 95-year-old veteran Huang, nicknamed the “Rainbow Grandfather,” said that he never imagined such a thing would happen, adding that he found it a little baffling.
“I am being watched by others, but I am watching others, too,” he said.
Huang said he enjoys other people’s company, especially the joy and laughter of his audience.
In 2008, Huang painted on the walls and floors of his self-built residence inside an old veterans’ village in Taichung’s Nantun District (南屯).
Two years later, when his house was listed for land readjustment by the government, Huang said the public started a campaign to save the Rainbow Village.
Letters flooded the mayor’s mailbox and the Taichung City Government made an exception allowing him to keep his house, he added.
Last year, more than 1.25 million people visited the Rainbow Village, the city government said.
Huang said that as long as his health allows, he almost always greets his visitors and that he still begins working at 4am almost every day.
The self-taught artist said he draws whatever comes to mind, including animals, puppets and even childhood memories.
He was hospitalized for a week early last month due to pneumonia after a cold, Huang said, adding that after checking out of hospital, he put his painting on pause to allow his body to rest and readjust.
He wanted to recover quickly so that he could continue painting, Huang said, adding that his energy has recovered and he has resumed painting.
“There are already a lot of images in my head and I want to paint all of them,” Huang said.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS