From above, it's clear that the Taiwan Folk Village in Changhua is falling apart. This site once held many old and culturally significant buildings, coming together as a kind of outdoor museum. Today, though, very little of the original architecture remains intact, apart from a hotel, a traditional courtyard residence, and a temple.
Locals say that they are distraught seeing this beloved site crumble away. The 52-acre village opened in 1987, and it was once declared a top-ten tourist destination in Taiwan. But, today the area is covered in weeds and the crumbling buildings make the site look more like a wasteland than anything significant.
The site has faced many hardships, such as the 921 earthquake, which killed employees, plus a lack of tourists and funding that has led the site to rack up NT$3 billion in debt. Finally, the government foreclosed the village in 2011.
Local residents are angry that private investors want to redevelop the land, and say this will harm the environment. Changhua's environmental protection agency, meanwhile, has even stormed the park and fought with police.
The new developers say that this land is now private property, but they will try to communicate with the locals. For now, it looks like the previous grandeur of the Taiwan Folk Village will be nothing but a memory.