Taiwan is home to a number of historic sites with links to its military past. Unfortunately, some are in bad shape. And even when fixed up, they aren’t guaranteed to bring in tourists. Yunlin County in central Taiwan is trying a new way to address this problem—restoring a crumbling site, but also using virtual reality to bring its past to life.
The Jianguo Military Dependents’ Village in Yunlin County has seen a lot. During the Pacific War era, when Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the site of the village was a Japanese military base. Then, with the end of Japanese rule after the war, the site became military housing for the soldiers of Taiwan’s new KMT government, as well as their families.
The decades that have followed have not been kind to the village. And so, the Yunlin County Government has stepped in and restored the site. Still, there are plenty of these military dependents’ villages across Taiwan. What could make this one stand out and attract visitors?
One solution is a display installed on the ceiling of an old air raid shelter that simulates an air raid from the past. The village also offers a virtual reality experience recreating the sensation of piloting a warplane from many decades ago. The goal is to make the site not just a rebuilt relic, but a place where history lives on.