In the last part we explored the origin of the Wanli beach resort, a brainchild of the successful Taiwanese entrepreneur Su Ming. But what happened to the UFO houses?
Apart from the Futuros, Suuronen - the Finish architect that you might remember from part 1 - also designed the Venturos that can also be found in Wanli and proof that rounded corners were a thing before Apple got a patent on them. Venturos faced a similar fate as their round brothers, and they can be found abandoned alongside the Futuros in Wanli.
You are probably wondering why the Futuros and Venturos were abandoned. Well, while Taiwan's economy was booming, things were going well for Su Ming and plenty of investors were interested in buying into "Emerald Bay", as the beach resort in Wanli was called. But when the economic growth slowed down, Su Ming's plan showed its flaw: Unlike he had hoped, he was not able to convert Taiwanese people into sun-bathing beach lovers. The bay being not particularly suitable for swimming and the humid summers and cold, windy winters did not help to make Emerald Bay popular with locals either.
Today, the resort seems abandoned, but contrary to the Futuros that are falling apart, the large hotel complex apparently is still open and a kilometre away from the Ufo houses I even spotted a Taiwanese family playing on the beach - maybe there is still some hope for Taiwan's "Emerald Bay".
If you want to visit the UFO village yourself, there is a direct bus from Taipei Main station (1815) - just ask for Yehliu Geopark. You can easily combine the UFO village and the Yehliu Geopark in one visit. Get off at the Howard Greenbay Resort Hotel and walk towards the shore, then you can't miss the UFO village.
Main information source: https://www.goteamjosh.com/blog/wanufo
