The sound of shutterbugs pepper the background as visitors literally hijack every inch of the walls in Lane 56 on Chun’an Road to pose for photographs. Some are dumbfounded in awe as they get closer to the houses. Their smiling faces say it all. This area in Nantun district of Taiwan is buzzing with joyous cheer and contagious energy as travellers from around the world gather to unravel the mystique of the 11 kaleidoscopic houses, each with an array of colourful wall art and figurines. In this rainbow village of Taiwan, it is undeniably hard not to gush over the cuteness of the adorably stylised kittens, pretty pandas, tiny tigers, beautiful birds, and laughing dolls; all painted in a unconventional style.
This insanely artistic village-cum-military dependents’ settlement shines as a living example of perseverance, joy, and triumph. “The protagonist is not the painting or the canvas but the painter himself,” says local guide Hu Yaochu aka Francis. While the houses are postcard-pretty, the story behind them is equally fascinating. Yong-Fu Huang, a Chinese civil war veteran settled here after two million troops and their families followed their leader, Chiang Kai-shek, into Taiwan in 1949. This area was among the first few makeshift villages and military settlements.
After the political upheaval settled, the dilapidation that came with age pushed most of the inhabitants to abandon the houses but Yong-Fu Huang, a lone permanent resident, refused to budge, insisting that these temporary dwellings were the only real home he had. He started painting the walls of the dilapidated houses. “His first painting was that of a bird in one of the rooms of his house. Once he had picked up the brush, he did not stop. The urge to paint all the houses gained momentum when he learned that the government was planning to bring in the bulldozers to raze the houses,” explains Francis, adding, “It was his way of protesting the demolition.”