An ex-soldier has successfully saved his village from demolition after painting it from top to bottom with colourful artwork. Huang Yung-Fu, who fought for the Kuomintang Army against communist troops in China’s civil war, has covered his settlement with drawings of animals, people and other quirky manga characters. The dwelling, located in the Taichung area of Western Taiwan, is now dubbed the ‘Rainbow Village’, with Huang himself commonly referred to as RainbowGrandpa. It all began In 1949, when Kuomintang soldiers began to flee mainland China and were given temporary housing in several ‘veterans villages’ across Taiwan. Huang’s settlement became permanent and increasingly run down over time, attracting the attention of housing developers who wanted to buy the land to redevelop it. Despite being offered new accommodation, Huang stayed put until he was the only person left in his village. His boredom led him to paint a bird inside his home, with the artwork eventually spreading to the walls, floors and alleys of the entire village. The colourful creations were then noticed by students at the nearby Ling Tung University, who subsequently campaigned for the village to be preserved and labelled a cultural landmark.