Rainbow Village: 97-year-old veteran's paintings save houses from demolition

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A small village in the city of Taichung in Taiwan has been attracting millions of visitors. Thanks to the artwork of 97-year old war veteran Huang Yong-fu, whose only goal was to save his house from getting torn down. CGTN's Barnaby Lo has this story.

Up until recently, the first thing 97-year old did when he got up before dawn was to paint. He painted walls inside his home, outside, and on his neighbors'. This, when almost everyone around him was moving away.

HUANG YONG FU 'RAINBOW GRANDPA' "I was bored and I did not want to leave, so I started painting. I was supposed to paint 16 houses, but I ended up painting only 11."

Around 1,200 houses once stood in what used to be a veterans' settlement, but developers have snapped up most of them. The only residents left, in what's known now as "Rainbow Village", are Huang Yong-fu and his wife.

HUANG YONG FU 'RAINBOW GRANDPA' "After seeing my work, a lot of people clamored for the preservation of whatever's left of my village. Finally, the mayor relented."

BARNABY LO TAICHUNG "Over a decade ago, when Huang Yong-fu, otherwise known as 'Rainbow Grandpa', started painting this village, he never expected this would be a hit among tourists. But now, every year, over a million of them come and visit this place."

Those running the art and tourist destination are the same people who helped spare Huang Yong-fu from having to leave his home.

WYATT LIN 'RAINBOW VILLAGE' DESIGNER "This place is something Taichung can really be proud of, so as a local, I want to be able to continue contributing to its growth and preservation."

Whenever he can, Huang Yong-fu also interacts with visitors. And for a number of lucky ones? His artwork on paper signed.

Barnaby Lo, CGTN, Taichung.