The March of Mural Villages: SpongeBob, Doraemon, and More Jumping Out of the Walls!

Text & Photos /Kuma

A Mini Trip to Changhua: Visiting Mural Villages …

The murals in Nanshin Community, Puyan, Changhua, have their own unique charm and highlights. Although the mural themes still feature familiar cartoon characters, the papier-mâché relief-style works add a three-dimensional feel to the art; viewing them from different angles also brings different kinds of fun, giving these cartoon characters an extra layer of liveliness.

Upon entering Nanshin Community, you’ll spot an adorable yellow duckling, which is also a papier-mâché creation. Nearby in the Farmer’s Park, there’s a traditional thatched-roof cottage where a bear actually forgot to go inside because the 3D murals were just too cute — he got distracted and ended up skipping the visit... ^^"

The golden rule when visiting a mural village — remember it well: use your eyes, not your hands or feet.

Most of the murals in Nanshin Community are concentrated on the walls around the bamboo-tube house of the former village chief. Though not numerous, each one is vivid and finely detailed, allowing visitors to appreciate the 3D effect created by combining papier-mâché with painting.

SpongeBob has been airing on YoYo TV since its debut, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched it. Some episodes still crack me up no matter how many times I see them.

When I first started watching SpongeBob, I used to get really annoyed with Patrick because he kept causing trouble. But the more I watched, the more my opinion of him changed. He still causes chaos, but every now and then he drops a surprisingly wise line that’s actually quite useful... ^^

Next to SpongeBob are Crayon Shin-chan and Action Kamen. Here, you’ve got to channel Shin-chan’s deep voice and shout: “Let’s see my Dynamic Wave — bleep bleep bleep!”

Since the murals are in 3D relief, Action Kamen’s originally cool “seven” pose ends up looking like a “ya” when viewed from the front.

Kids’ favorite Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf are here too.

Tigger and Kiki.

Although the 3D murals are adorable and eye-catching, the quiet beauty hidden in every corner of the community is also worth appreciating.

On the other side of the mural wall, you’ll find Minions, Kitty, and Detective Kame.

The Minions are absolutely adorable, although things can get a bit noisy when they’re all clustered together.

The reconstructed bamboo-tube house of the former village chief is now “guarded” by Detective Kame from the “Ultraman Taro”-like cop comedy show “Odoru Daisosasen.” The backrest of the wooden bench in front of the house is even heart-shaped, adding a cute touch to the traditional setting.

Nearby, there’s also a ring-tailed lemur from the movie “Madagascar,” while Mickey and Minnie are having a little romance amidst a sea of cosmos flowers.

I missed the flower fields in Nanshin Community this year, but I hope to catch them next year.

Then go say hello to Detective Kame and step into the bamboo-tube house.

Inside, there’s a detailed introduction to the bamboo-tube house — the text is omitted here.

Besides the eye-catching heart-shaped chairs, there’s also a Santa Claus camouflaged as a tree root — very sneaky.

Further ahead, there’s Doraemon’s time machine. Kids are all scrambling to sit in it. Compared to the time machine, though, this bear would rather have a Anywhere Door... ^^

On the wall near the community parking lot, there’s some Chinese-style artwork. Unfortunately, cars parked nearby make it hard to view or photograph straight on — only angled shots are possible.

At the street corner, there are murals featuring the solar terms and various fruits and vegetables.

Then, by accident, my eyes met those of a guard dog owned by a local resident. After one second of staring, it started barking. So I skipped the murals further ahead because this bear is really scared of guard dogs. Honestly, the dog kept barking even after I walked far away — I wonder if it was frustrated at its own slow reaction? Guard dog, I’m genuinely afraid of you.

The community bulletin board is also super unique — shaped like a traditional grain barn called a “gutingben,” but it also looks like a farmer wearing a straw hat and smiling. There’s even a cement base underneath.

After being chased off by the guard dog, I headed in another direction to experience more of the community’s local charm.

I spotted a sign for “Stone Mill Experience,” but I have no idea where the experience area is or whether it’s open to visitors.

The colorful paintings in front of the house reminded Bear of the lavender fields in Hokkaido—he really wanted to see that beautiful scenery again; on the other side, under a big tree, there was a chess table.

Going further ahead is the restroom, but the traditional Chinese landscape painting on the outside is something Bear absolutely loved. This must be the kind of scenery that ancient poets wrote about—no wonder their poems are so full of mood. It would be nice to have a painting village with such landscape art too... =^^=

After adding and subtracting a bit while walking around in a circle, we returned to the small path in front of the parking lot, where there was also a painting of the Doraemon characters.

Although the painted murals in Nanxin Community aren't large in scale, the creations that combine paper pulp with relief sculpture really leave an impression. Even though it wasn’t the lavender flower season when we visited, combined with nearby attractions, it’s still a great spot for a short trip.
Attraction: Nanxin Painting Village

Address: Haojin Road, Nanxin Village, Puyan Township, Changhua County
Everyday life, now and then, is recorded through words and images.