Rainbow Grandpa Saves A Village From Demolition

Believe it or not but art is a powerful thing. And while we sometimes think of it as optional, and something we have time for once we’re on vacation or relaxing, art can actually have real consequences and art can save the day. Think about all those times an art piece, a book, a movie or a poem resonated with you so much it brightened your day or even changed your life. Well, today we’ll tell you the story of how art saved a village in Taiwan.

There’s a little village in Nantun District, Taichung that used to house over a thousand families. It was initially built as temporary housing for soldiers. But over the years people moved away but some former soldiers and their families stayed and decided to make this place their permanent home.

Huang Yung-Fu is a 96-year-old ex-soldier is one of those few who stayed. He has lived in this village for almost 40 years. And even though the village was becoming almost abandoned, with only 11 houses occupied, it’s his home. So imagine his shock when he found out that the government was planning to demolish the entire village. The reasoning was that it was only meant to be temporary by design and since most people moved and certain corporations were interested in buying the land – they might as well make a clean slate out of it.