Wanli Abandoned UFO Village (萬里飛碟屋)
Escaping Taipei
It is easy to get tired of the sprawling metropolis of Taipei. While the city has many neighborhoods and enclaves which can keep your typical tourist entertained for weeks, you may find yourself wanting to escape the concrete jungle and find something a bit more off of the beaten track. The city limits of Taipei actually stretch far to the north which includes a city and district simply named “New Taipei”. To the north, you will find a rugged coastline with many eerie abandoned military outposts overlooking the sea. One of the most obscure sights on these grey moody beaches are the yellow UFOs which locals have no explanation about their origin or purpose.
To get to the abandoned UFO neighborhood from Taipei, you first want to go to Taipei City Hall Bus Station (市府轉運站) and take bus 1815 heading towards Jinshan Youth Activity Center (金山青年活動中心). The price shouldn’t be more than 100 NTD (3.2 USD). After boarding, you will stay on the bus for an hour and a half until you reach Feicuiwan Beach (翡翠灣). From here the saucers are only a short walk away on the coast.
You can get more information about Wanli and how to get there here!
Abandoned Flying Saucers
The yellow oval shape of the UFOs stands out like a sore thumb among the trees along the coast. When discovering your first saucer, you are sure to find yourself standing in awe of the sheer obscurity of these structures. While you as a tourist have free reign over the entirety of the neighborhood, it is important to know that there are still some people which have taken residence along the beach. Unfortunately, the futuro houses are unkempt and left to rot.
Most of the doors to the saucers are open, meaning that you have the option to peek your head inside and even wander around inside a bit. The interior of most of the UFOs are shabby at best. The former owners look as if they had to leave all of their belongs behind in a rush or possibly the rubbish is just that of squatters taking up refuge in the spaceships.
Regardless of the mess which has accumulated inside, you can still manage to enjoy and imagine what life would be like in one of the quirky houses. What you will have to be careful of is severe damage to the floor of the saucers. One wrong step and you will quickly find your feet hanging out the bottom of the UFO.
Chinese readers can get more info on the UFO houses here!
An Architect’s Shattered Dream
These science-fiction-esque futuro houses, as well as the box shaped venturo vacation homes, were all designed by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen. The intention of these homes was to build a low-cost portable house, easy to move from the suburbs to snowy mountaintops or tropic beaches. There are several reasons that we today are not all living in these yellow saucers. Just developed in the late 60s and early 70s, production of the plastic yellow spaceships were halted due to the gas crisis in 1973.
That’s not the only reason that investors pulled out of the futuro venture. As soon as some of the UFOs were ertected in mountain resorts around the world, there was a public outcry demanding the demolition of these houses due to their unnatural appearance. Before the mass cancelations by customers and pulling out of backers, less than 100 of the futuro houses have been built. Every year more and more of these unique circular houses are being demolished, leaving only a handful abandoned in places such as Wanli or bought by private collectors.
You can get more information about the construction of the futuro houses in Taiwan here!
Graveyards on the Coast
Keeping with the dark dreary atmosphere of the abandoned UFO village, there is a huge expanse of graves located directly behind the decrepit neighborhood. Each of the elaborate mausoleums are adorned with mythical creatures as well as various gods and goddesses. Some of the graves are well maintained with fresh flowers being left in front of the portraits of the deceased, while others have been overrun with vines and weeds. Once a year the graves are cleaned off and swept during Tomb Sweeping Day (清明节). Be sure to be respectful and careful where you step when visiting any graveyards throughout Taiwan.
You can read more about Chinese graveyards here!
Guihou Fishermans Village
After you have had your full of exploring the deserted UFOs and creepy graveyards, the popular Guihou Fishermans village is a mere few minutes walk away. Despite its size, Guihou is one of the most popular destinations in all of Taiwan, made famous by its delectable selection of sea crab. Even though the market and port brings in its fair share of tourists, this fisherman’s village still maintains the spirit of a sleepy seaside harbor. The market and town make for the perfect place to witness and taste traditional Taiwanese culture.
You can read more about Guihou Fishermans Village here!
Wanli has a lot to offer, from those looking for something off the beaten track to those just looking for a bite to eat. The futuro houses are truly the main attraction, however, a monument to post WWII innovation. While some of these flying saucers have been saved from the jaws of the bulldozer, many have still been made into nothing more than rubble. Be sure to check out these mysterious flying saucers while you still can, until yet another backpacker’s pilgrimage site is turned into nothing more than another mundane resort or patch of dirt.
